Dispersal order for Nottingham after lockdown flouters fined

A dispersal order has been put in place in parts of Nottingham after police issued 59 fines to people breaching Covid-19 regulations in one night.

In one case officers found a large party in a house in Bluecoat Close after reports of loud music on Friday.

Police said there were also multiple reports of antisocial behaviour.

The order in Lenton, Arboretum and the city centre will begin from 18:00 and last for 48 hours.

It allows officers to order people to leave an area if they are being disruptive. Those who continue to flout the rules or cause disruption could be arrested.

Nottinghamshire Police said it received a number of calls between 18:00 on Friday and 04:00 from residents concerned that people were breaking lockdown regulations by having large gatherings.

Neighbourhood Insp Amy English said the restrictions "need to be respected".

"People need to accept that we're still in a very serious national lockdown," she said.

"We have always said we would prefer to engage and encourage people to follow the regulations, but we can only do this for so long before enforcement needs to be taken.

"We now have no choice but to meet last night's unrest with a full-force response and we will be taking a tough approach to anyone found breaking the rules."

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