Police hit Easter service...as party goers leave trash
POLICE have defended breaking up an Easter church service by saying “those present were clearly not socially distanced”.
Officers from the Met Police stopped the Good
Friday mass at a Polish Roman Catholic church in Balham, south-west London.
Video footage has emerged which showed the police addressing the congregation at the altar of the Parafii Chrystusa Króla (Parish of Christ the King).
An officer can be heard saying: “Ladies and gentlemen, this gathering is unfortunately unlawful under the coronavirus regulations we have currently.
“You are not allowed to be inside with this many people under the law.”
The officer then told worshippers to go home or risk being fined £200 and arrested.
A Met Police statement said the lack of masks and social distancing meant they had to intervene.
“Officers made the decision that it was not safe for that particular service to continue,” it said.
A spokesman for the church said: “The rights of the faithful have been wronged on such an important day for every believer and our worship has been profaned.
“We ask everyone to observe the current sanitary requirements and social distancing guidelines.”
Elsewhere, lockdown-weary people made the most of the sunshine before tomorrow’s Arctic blast, with crowds seen on the beachfront at Bournemouth.
And revellers who left piles of rubbish in Cardiff Bay on Good Friday have been condemned.
A Cardiff Council spokesman said: “Our teams are faced with the huge task of cleaning up rubbish left behind by large groups intent on breaking restrictions.”