Gatherings in defiance of lockdown restrictions
CROWDS huddled together drinking, mass brawls, people urinating in public and a beach being turned into a nightclub are all things we have seen in Swansea over the last year, despite coronavirus restrictions.
Since the pandemic began, Welsh Government rules have meant we have had to follow social distancing and, when restrictions have eased, limit the number of people we meet with socially.
But despite these restrictions, we have seen many gatherings of people who have flouted the rules to get together in huge numbers.
We’ve taken a look at some of the standout incidents that have unfolded.
Beach turned into a nightclub: Last June Langland Bay was captured looking more like Ibiza as loud music and LED lighting pumped on to the beach late at night. The footage, captured by Luke Cox, who lives overlooking the beach, was just one example of the disruption people in the area had been reporting.
Huge fires, littering, public urination and even defecation were all said to be issues as the warm weather saw many flout Welsh Government coronavirus guidelines and gather in large groups from many different households with little social distancing. Mr Cox told us how lasers were beaming down from the top of the prom on to the beach.
People spotted urinating in public as huge crowds gathered together: Huge crowds were also seen in Killay in June drinking in the streets, urinating in public and intimidating residents.
The scenes were sparked after a local pub reopened to offer its customers a takeaway drinks service. While following all guidelines in order to try to get their business back up and running, word of mouth soon spread that the pub was serving pints. Local residents reported seeing “hundreds” of people drinking beer and men urinating in public, although pub CCTV footage suggested the gathering was of less than 100.
Impromptu street gathering in early hours of
the morning: In September last year, scores of apparently drunk people in their 20s held an impromptu gathering in the middle of the road in a residential area of Swansea in the early hours of the morning – and hurled a missile at a resident who called police.
More than 40 people, believed to be students, stood on the streets chatting and drinking in Brynmill. And when one fedup resident went to call police in a bid to disperse the party, she was singled out for abuse and struck by a beer can thrown at her while dressed in her pyjamas. The victim, Ali Morris, said the incident was the culmination of two weeks of loud noise and late night parties from shared properties.
Students suspended after Halloween get-togethers:
In November last year there were several sightings of big groups of students in fancy dress having get-togethers which appeared to be a breach of Welsh Government firebreak lockdown rules.
Wales’s fire-break lockdown was put in place on October 23 until November 9. The Welsh Government restrictions made it clear you could not meet with anyone you did not live with, unless you were an adult living alone or a single-parent household, in which case you could form a temporary bubble.
Swansea University suspended 15 students in what it described as “serious breaches” of university Covid-19 regulations.
More than 100 youngsters spotted on prom:
Crowds were pictured on Swansea Promenade following reports of antisocial behaviour leaving locals feeling “frightened” and “threatened”. Pedestrians on Marine Walk, near the observatory, claimed that there were “over 100 youths” at one point on March 1 this year.
One woman walking with her child said she felt very frightened and threatened by the behaviour. She claimed that a fight had broken out and youths were “throwing glass bottles”, although South Wales Police said that they did not receive any reports of assault. Welsh Government alert level 4 restrictions were in place at the time.
Mass fight involving dozens of teens punching and kicking each other:
Also in March a video emerged showing a mass brawl involving teenagers kicking and hitting each other and rolling on the ground in the Swansea Marina area where there had been nightly disruption at the time.
It showed a large gathering of youths on the promenade near Swansea Beach.
Amidst shouts and screams a large crowd could be seen pulling, punching and jostling one another, with some people on the floor and punches and kicks being landed.
Crowd of ‘hundreds’ huddled together in SA1: Earlier this month a large crowd was filmed gathered in public in Swansea drinking and dancing in an apparent breach of coronavirus regulations.
Video footage was shared online showing the crowd together in the SA1 area of the city on Good Friday. A witness estimated there were a few hundred people present.
The footage captured groups of young people jumping up and down, dancing in a huddle while holding their phones in the air to capture footage of what was going on.
In the video, many are holding cans and takeaway pint glasses as they dance to music.
Hundreds spotted drinking and fighting: Revellers were spotted congregating in large groups and
enjoying takeaway drinks with social distancing in short supply over the last weekend.
At Swansea Marina, Dawn Llewellyn-price, of the Maritime Quarter Residents Association, said she had been in touch with PCSOS who had patrolled the area, who described the litter as the “worst they have seen”.
She said: “There were 400 people, fighting, and one of the revellers had apparently taken her kid’s potty so she could use it in the car park.
“People pull into the dunes car park square, eat their fast food and throw the boxes out the car windows. It was like that late last night, but the council had cleared it this morning. Yesterday morning we spent 90 minutes on the beach, dunes and fishing boat area picking up all sorts of stuff.”