COVID 19: NO PARTIES PLEA AS OLD FIRM MATCHES HIT THE TV

Police break up over 300 house parties and warn about football on TV tonight

 Police attended several large party gatherings across the country. Pictured Chief Constable Livingstone and First Minister Sturgeon.

By Bill Heaney

Officers attended more than 300 house gatherings across Scotland over Halloween weekend — and danced with absolutely no one.

And there will be strictly no dancing tonight (Thursday) either when both Rangers and Celtic will be playing European matches, which will be televised.

Celtic v Sparta Prague UEFA Europa League Group Stage  20:00  BT Sport 3

Benfica v Rangers  UEFA Europa League Group Stage  17:55  BT Sport 3

The message from both Chief Constable Iain Livingstone and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is no parties, please – and stick to the rules on pandemic restrictions.

It has been revealed that more than 300 fines were issued and 24 people were arrested between Friday 30 October and Sunday 1 November.

Police received more than 3,000 calls at the weekend relating to nuisance, noise and disturbance.

“We don’t want to see that happening again tonight,” said the Chief Constable.

Most gatherings were small, however in one incident, about 100 people were found at a party in a rented property in Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire.

A 48-seater party bus and several cars were parked outside the property during Saturday evening.

The party organiser, a 33-year-old man, was charged with culpable and reckless conduct.

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A 46-year-old man was charged with a breach of coronavirus regulations and fined while the bus driver was also fined.

In Edinburgh, police were called to reports of a house party in the New Town area in the early hours of Sunday.

Thirty students were found inside the property and all received fines.

‘Do the right thing’

An illegal Halloween party at a warehouse in Hyde Park Street in Glasgow was also attended by police on Sunday.

Officers issued more than 60 fines and charged a 26-year-old man with culpable and reckless conduct.

Police said many people were not wearing masks and no physical distancing was in place at the event.

Assistant Chief Constable Alan Speirs said: “Officers dealt with a significant number of calls to house gatherings over the weekend and we have been quite clear that we will enforce the law where necessary, as the public would expect us to do.

“We are not just talking about large parties. The vast majority were smaller groups of different households meeting indoors.

“House gatherings of any size cause the virus to spread and we are asking people to do the right thing and take personal responsibility.”

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