Snow joke, lads
Two men who organised a mass snow ball fight in Leeds have been fined £10,000 each for breaching Covid-19 regulations.
Police described it as a “blatant breach” of Covid legislation.
Hundreds gathered on Woodhouse Moor in close proximity to each other for more than two hours earlier this month after Leeds was covered in snow.
The two men, 20 and 23, have bee identified after police enquiries and have been handed the maximum fines. Organising any such event of more than 30 people is illegal and leaves organisers liable to a £10,000 fine under Coronavirus legislation.
The older man had already been fined for a breach of household mixing guidelines in November.
A large group of people broke coronavirus restrictions after taking part in a snowball fight in Hyde Park, Leeds.
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Chief Superintendent Damien Miller, Leeds District Commander, 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.
“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.”
