The men have been fined £10,000 each for breaching the nation-wide coronavirus lockdown restrictions
Two men in their early 20s have been fined £10,000 each following them organising a large-scale snowball fight that took place in Leeds.
The pair, who are aged 20 and 23, were issued with the large fines of £10,000 each, as the snowball fight was branded as being a blatant “breach of the legislation” by the West Yorkshire Police force.
The police said in a statement today, that the 23-year-old had previously received a fine for breaching the nation’s coronavirus lockdown restrictions in November of last year.
They said that incident was “in relation to mixing households at an address in Hyde Park”.
This comes after the Prime Minister is heading up to Scotland on a one-day trip aimed at highlighting the value of the United Kingdom in working together to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr Johnson’s controversial visit is part of a Conservative fightback against polls suggesting that there is growing support for Scottish independence, as well as support for Ms Sturgeon’s threat to hold an advisory referendum.
Organisation for the snowball fight event took place and spread in large part due to social media. At the time, a 20-year-old man, who had only revealed his name as Adam, said that students from various universities in the area took part, as well as many non-students.
He said: “It was a very welcome relief… a welcome laugh that people needed.
“I know many students who are extremely depressed, and stressed with online exams and have had little support.”
“Mental health is equally as important as physical health… so many young people and students really have nothing to keep them going at this point.”
Woodhouse Moor is in Hyde Park and is located next to the University of Leeds, and Leeds Beckett University is also located near to the Moor.
Chief Superintendent Damien Miller said: “We take absolutely no pleasure in handing out such heavy fines to these two young men but their actions encouraged hundreds of people to be in close proximity to each other, creating a significant and completely unnecessary risk of increasing the spread of the virus.”
“It was a blatant breach of the legislation that is in place to help keep people safe at what remains a critical time for us all.”
This comes after More than 30 on-duty police officers are set to be fined £200 each because they broke coronavirus rules while on duty, by having their hair cut. Scotland Yard said it had been informed that 31 officers had their hair trimmed by a professional barber at Bethnal Green police station in east London on Sunday the 17th of January.
He continued by saying:
“The event attracted understandable media attention and widespread public condemnation of all those who irresponsibly took part.”
“That said, it remains clear that the vast majority of people recognise the need for collective responsibility and are continuing to stick with the regulations that are there to protect our families and our communities.”
“We will continue our approach of engaging, explaining and encouraging compliance but we won’t hesitate to enforce the law where people blatantly disregard the rules and put others at risk.”
