Police are called after hundreds of St Patrick’s day revellers descend on park in Manchester

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Police were called to reports of hundreds of people drinking and playing music and urinating in a Manchester park on St Patrick’s Day.  

One neighbour described people with ‘loud speakers’ waving Irish flags and urinating on his garden fence during the gathering at Platt Fields Park – which started on yesterday afternoon.

While another local said the park, in Fallowfield, is ‘the busiest I’ve seen it’.

Police attended and were said to be ‘engaging’ with those present but didn’t issue any fines.  

It comes just weeks after police warned about large gatherings in the same park. 

Under current lockdown rules, outdoor mixing is only permitted with your own household, or with one other person.

One neighbour described seeing around ‘500 people’ congregating on the hill in the park.

The resident, who asked not to be named, said: ‘I think there must be 500 people there all breaking Covid rules. They’ve got loud speakers, Irish flags and they’ve been urinating up my back fence. Our yard backs onto the park.

‘I think it’s just disgusting. It’s exactly the same as it was a few weeks ago but worse.

‘Because it’s St Patrick’s Day this will go on long into the night I’m sure.

‘I just don’t get people. They will probably go back to halls and see people who have been trying to live by the rules. These people are just flouting the rules. It shows a total disregard for other people.’

Another eyewitness described seeing hundreds of people in the park.

‘The park was the busiest I’ve seen it,’ they said.

‘I would say there were at least 200 people on top of the hill. It was mainly young people stood around drinking and listening to music.’

It is understood that several groups of people have gathered rather than one large group.

A Greater Manchester Police spokesperson said: ‘Police were initially called just after 2pm on Wednesday 17 March to reports of a small group of people gathering on Platt Fields Park.

‘As the afternoon went on, the number of groups gathered at the park increased.

‘Officers attended and engaged with those present. No fixed penalty notices were issued and many of those there later dispersed without issue.’

It comes after hundreds of students gathered at a Liverpool park as part of St Patrick’s Day celebrations, despite the national lockdown.

Police were sent to Sefton Park after footage shared on Twitter and Snapchat showed crowds drinking in the sun as they flouted Covid-19 guidelines.

Altogether, 43 people were fined and one person was arrested for being drunk and disorderly. 

Supt Mark Wiggins said: ‘Unfortunately there are some people who believe the rules are not meant for them.’ 

By the time they were moved on, crowds had left swathes of litter across the park. 

Rules set out as part of easing lockdown mean one person can meet another from another household, but there should be no more than two people altogether.

Merseyside Police have created a dispersal zone covering four parks in the city, which grants officers additional powers to move people on in the park if they are suspected of anti-social behaviour. 

Chief Inspector Karl Baldwin said: ‘Such blatant disregard of the Covid-19 regulations, which are in place to protect our communities, will not be tolerated by Merseyside Police.

‘We are still in a national lockdown and large gatherings, either indoors or outdoors, are currently not permitted under the current rules which state that you can only mix outdoors with one other person outside your household or support bubble.

‘Now, more than ever, people should be taking heed of the regulations, so that infection rates can continue to drop, and we can meet the criteria necessary for easing lockdown in the upcoming weeks and months.

‘We know that adhering to the rules over the past year and not seeing family and friends has been really difficult but we all need to pull together and follow the rules as such reckless behaviour now will put any future easing of the lockdown rules in jeopardy.

‘We need to do everything we can to protect the public during this pandemic and, rest assured, police will not hesitate to take action when people show such blatant disregard for the rules as we are seeing in Sefton Park this afternoon.

‘We would urge people who are planning to go the park in large groups of multiple households this afternoon to think again as by flouting the rules in this way you not only risk catching and spreading coronavirus but also put yourself at risk receiving a substantial fine.’

The dispersal zone created by Merseyside Police covers Sefton Park, as well as nearby Princes Park, Greenbank Park and Toxteth Park Cemetery and will run until 6am tomorrow.

It gives officers and PCSOs powers to move people along and order them not to return for up to 24 hours.

Under the legislation, officers have the power to seize any item, including vehicles, used in the commission of anti-social behaviour.

Should a person who has previously been directed to leave the area return, an offence would be committed, which they may ultimately be arrested for.

Supt Mark Wiggins added: ‘We have already dispersed groups of people who chose irresponsibly to ignore Covid regulations and the dispersal order introduced this evening helps us to prevent similar issues from recurring.

‘This Dispersal Zone is not about bothering people going about their legitimate daily business, but an appropriate response to the gatherings we saw in the park this afternoon which involved a large number of irresponsible individuals gathering in large groups and who took no account of the health implications to others from the current pandemic. 

‘This will not be tolerated by Merseyside Police.’

Liverpool Council’s Cabinet Member for Health, Paul Brant, told the Liverpool Echo earlier: ‘The city has worked so hard to get the infection levels back down, and breaking the social distancing guidelines risks throwing away those hard won gains with a flash of recklessness. 

‘This period before there is full rollout of the vaccine to all adults is the moment of maximum danger if we drop our guard.

‘This has been a long hard winter for all of us, but we only have to look across to Paris to see how quickly a third wave of the virus can return. If you want to celebrate St Patrick’s day, do it responsibly by following the rules.’