Sheffield students fined £80,000 in just one month for breaking lockdown at illegal parties

Students caught flouting the Covid lockdown rules at parties in Sheffield have been fined more than £80,000 this month.
By Robert Cumber
Published 3rd Mar 2021, 08:17 BST
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Officers in Sheffield city centre revealed they had issued £200 fixed penalty notices during February to 150 people found breaking the rules at numerous student residential buildings.

They also described how two £10,000 fines had been issued retrospectively after 75 students were discovered crammed into an apartment at Portland Tower for a New Year’s Eve party.

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Students spilling out of an illegal lockdown party at a flat in Sheffield, which around 150 people attended (Image: SYP)Students spilling out of an illegal lockdown party at a flat in Sheffield, which around 150 people attended (Image: SYP)
Students spilling out of an illegal lockdown party at a flat in Sheffield, which around 150 people attended (Image: SYP)
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In its monthly newsletter, Sheffield City Centre Neighbourhood Policing Team said: “Despite ongoing partnership work between ourselves, the universities and their security staff, we have continued to experience issues around some students flaunting the covid regulations once again throughout the month of February.

"The team continues to work in partnership with both universities and the security staff at different blocks of student accommodation to assist with reports of Covid breaches, in the main students disregarding the rules and having parties.”

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The biggest breach last month was a party at Ranmoor Village on Thursday, February 4, where police encountered around 150 students spilling out of the accommodation after being called to break up the illicit bash.The occupier of the ‘party flat’ admitted organising the event and was fined £10,000, while 30 other people detained at the scene were each ordered to pay £800, taking the total value of fines issued during February to £84,000.

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The team described how last week officers had visited some of the Sheffield Hallam University campus accommodation in partnership with university chiefs, and it said more patrols were planned over the coming days and weeks.