DISGUSTING
POLICE ADMIT THEY WERE ‘CAUGHT BY SURPRISE’ OVER MASS GATHERING IN CITY PARK AND STEP UP PATROLS
A NOTTINGHAMSHIRE police chief said the “speed and scale” in which hundreds of party-goers descended on a city park was like nothing they have seen during the pandemic.
Hundreds of students carrying boxes of beer staged a mass gathering in The Arboretum park on Monday.
It was the first day of guidelines being relaxed, with the return to the “rule of six”, or two households, being able to meet outdoors in a public space.
Assistant chief constable Steve Cooper called the scenes “disappointing and irresponsible.”
The leader of Nottingham City Council, Councillor David Mellen said the gathering was “jeopardising the strides” being made to reduce the Covid-19 spread in Nottingham which has already taken more than 600 lives.
Shocking footage emerged on social media of revellers climbing trees, fighting, dancing in large groups and spraying alcohol into the air.
Residents said the noise was “horrendous” and the smell of cannabis wafted into nearby streets with some avoiding the park as a result.
Yesterday morning the park was in a terrible state with beer crates, bottles, cans and barbecue sets strewn across the grass.
The Arboretum park gates are now being guarded by community protection officers with alcohol being taken off anyone who enters.
Police will also issue £200 fines to people in the park breaching Covid-19 guidelines with extra patrols in force throughout Easter.
This will also expand to the Victoria Embankment and The Forest recreation ground.
Assistant chief constable Cooper said police did attend the mass gathering of “hundreds” on Monday, but they were “caught by surprise.”
Some revellers refused to leave the area when they were confronted by officers and police were forced to keep revellers con
tained in the park to protect the public on nearby streets.
He said a number of fines were handed out as a result.
He told the Post: “The scale and speed people gathered is something we have not seen during any previous easing of restrictions, even in the summer with the pubs reopening.
“The speed at which people gathered at the Arboretum compared to how people have previously been behaving caught us by surprise. We are now changing our policing response accordingly.”
He said people were acting like restrictions had been “totally withdrawn” and that “increased visibility” will now be in place at a number of open spaces.
“The easing of restrictions, which is only a minor easing, meant people used that excuse and the warm weather to behave in a fully unacceptable way,” he added.
“We are near the end and the vast majority of the people at the Arboretum won’t have been vaccinated.
“They could now end up spreading the virus in the community - that’s what we are trying to stop.
“It is not stopping people from having fun, it is the consequences of the virus.”
Councillor David Mellen, leader of the city council said the scenes from the Arboretum on Monday were “extremely disappointing, with a selfish minority abusing the easing of restrictions and spoiling it for others”.
He added:
“We have all made sacrifices over the last year to keep each other safe. Over 600 local people have died due to the virus.
“We owe it to their families, to each other and to frontline workers not to jeopardise the strides we have made towards reducing the spread of Covid by acting so thoughtlessly and recklessly.
“We have had discussions with senior police officers and there will be increased presence in our parks. “Drinking alcohol in public spaces is not permitted in Nottingham and will be seized on entry to our parks. It’s also totally unacceptable for people to litter our parks in this way. Parks have been a lifeline for many during the pandemic and our staff have worked tirelessly to keep them open, clean and safe. “It’s not too much to ask that if bins are full, people take their rubbish away with them and dispose of it responsibly. “I’m grateful to both universities who offered help to clean up. We want our parks to remain somewhere everyone can enjoy.” The Post asked both Nottingham Trent University and the University of Nottingham for a comment, but neither had responded by the time this edition went to press.
Drinking alcohol in public spaces is not permitted and will be seized on entry to our parks.
David Mellen