An ILLEGAL gathering was shut down by police in Wandsworth this week.

Police were called to reports of a house party at an address in Wandsworth, shortly before 11.40pm on February 11.

On entering the address, officers found there to be between 30 and 40 people present.

Two people were arrested; one female for breach of Covid regulations and one male for an unrelated offence.

Police confirmed that they issued fixed penalty notices to the other attendees, before they locked the premises.

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Inspector Matt Ebbs from South West Command Unit, said: "It is saddening to have to deal with an incident like this where large numbers of people have illegally gathered in breach of Covid regulations during a national lockdown.

“At a time when so many members of the public are making considerable sacrifices and abiding by the rules to keep others safe, these individuals acted selfishly and risked spreading the virus which has already claimed countless lives across our city.

“These are challenging times but we must all play our part, and I urge everyone to follow the rules to protect themselves and their community.”

Officers report offenders for potential Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) using a digital system. These reports are checked centrally by the Met to ensure the necessary information is included and there is sufficient evidence to support the alleged offence.

The reports are then sent on to ACRO (Criminal Records Office) where they are reviewed again before ACRO issues the appropriate notice to the recipient by post.

If the recipient is identified as a repeat offender, the fixed penalty may increase.

Recipients who fail to pay the fixed penalty will be summonsed to court where they can challenge it. Where the FPN is upheld, the court will set the fine and may add court costs.