They told police they were "spoiling their fun"
Four students at Nottingham Trent University have received fines of £10,000 each after holding a house party while Tier 2 lockdown restrictions were in place in the region.
The students, who live in Lenton, Nottingham, held the party on Tuesday night, just hours before the implementation of the harshest lockdown restrictions currently available in the United Kingdom.
Nottingham had the highest rate of Covid-19 restrictions for nine days in a row at one point during October, and under Tier 2 restrictions, the mixing of two households is banned.
When police were called to their house, they were reportedly told by the students that everyone had gone home, before inquiring and finding a further 30 people inside. They were said to be hiding in a number of rooms around the house
"This needs to stop. The claims that police presented as a barrier to the students' fun are astounding," said Nottinghamshire Police Assistant Chief Constable Kate Meynell.
"How many fines do we have to give before the message is understood?
"We do not take pleasure in handing out fines and would much rather be in a situation where students could enjoy themselves but the reality is that if people do not follow the Covid-19 restrictions, more people will die.
"The majority of students are following the rules but there obviously is a significant number of them who feel as though they can show blatant disregard for the safety of those around them."
Nottingham Trent has confirmed that the four students have been suspended from the university, saying:
"We have been notified by Nottinghamshire Police this morning that they have imposed £10,000 fines on NTU students.
"On receipt of that notification we immediately launched an investigation, and each student has been suspended pending the outcome of our investigation.
"Any student who is found to have breached our disciplinary regulations can face a range of sanctions, up to and including expulsion."
