£10,000 fine for a party: London barber shop celebration ends in police raid (VIDEO)

Over 20 people are facing fines after London police raided an illegal pandemic party being held at a barber's shop in west Croydon, with the organizer expected to pay thousands of pounds.

Metropolitan Police posted bodycam footage of the raid, which took place early on Saturday, showing dozens of partygoers mingling without social distancing in a back room.

According to a statement, police were called just before midnight about loud music coming from the shop on London Road.

“Officers attended, identified clear evidence of breaches of Health Protection Regulations and dispersed those present as quickly and safely as possible,” the Metropolitan Police declared, adding that 22 people involved in the incident were issued with Fixed Penalty Notice fines, while the organiser is being considered for a fine of £10,000.

“Everyone knows that it is neither lawful nor safe for such events to take place while the country is dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic,” Metropolitan Police Inspector Kathy Morteo said. “The Health Protection Regulations are in place for good and easily understood reasons, and it is our role to enforce them in London.”

In England, those who break Covid-19 lockdown rules can be fined £200 for their first offence and up to £6,400 for repeated offences.

As Brits are already coping with their third lockdown, videos showing police cracking down on illegal partygoers emerge in the media quite often. Last week, during a raid on a clandestine nightclub in Birmingham, police deployed thermal imaging drones to track people trying to flee through the roof.

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