This is what can happen if police break up your flat party

If you’re from a different flat, they might even give you a lift home


Along with “lockdown” and “social-distancing”, “security break up flat party” seems to have become another very 2020 buzz phrase.

It seems like everyone has, or knows someone who has, been to a flat party that’s been broken up by security or even the police.

After my flat got lucky on few occasions, with security being surprisingly nice, I wanted to see if I was alone in my good fortune.

So, I interviewed several students to find out just what can happen if police or security poop your party.

One second year student, who didn’t wish to be named, started her night out in Revs (back in the time when you could go to Revs)  before ending up in Central Village.  She arrived at a small party, telling The Leeds Tab: “There were less than 15 people there, but obviously more than the six-person rule.”

After some intense rounds of ring of fire, the inevitable happened. The wardens entered. People became crafty, and went to “look” for their IDs, ending up hiding in rooms.

The second year student and her friend got changed into pyjamas and pretended they were just having a quiet movie night. She told The Leeds Tab: “I was hiding in my friends room and we get a knock on the door, thinking it’s the warden and opened the door to a literal police officer there.”

The police officer suspected they weren’t in fact having a movie night, but didn’t seem bothered, asked where she lived and offered her a lift home.

The student had to wait for the police to bust another party at Central Village, before getting a  a free lift back to her house. Everyone who lived in the flat was fined £100, but this lucky student didn’t even have to pay for her Uber home.

Most, admittedly, are less fortunate.

One first year student had over 40 people in her six-person kitchen. Her flat had planned to have people round but thought their kitchen blinds would be enough to keep security out, stopping them seeing in. However, smokers (or probably “just social smokers”) kept trooping in and out of the block, eventually drawing attention to one of the few sessions occurring.

Unfortunately the blinds weren’t enough, and guess what? Those pesky wardens showed up again. The first year student told The Leeds Tab: “They just came into the kitchen and turned on all the lights, asked who lives there, then most people left.”

It’s not the image of a SWAT team doing room clearance that I’d imagined, but still…

The student ended up with a £200 fine, as did everyone else in her flat. In a wholesome evaluation of the events, the first year said: “It was just nice to dance and chat to people.”

Another first year student had a run in with the police but luckily escaped with a warning.

The night began in Ten Bar quickly spiralling into a flat party. Unfortunately, people seemed to latch on to the only party about, and suddenly loads of people rocked up. The first year was annoyed at the gate crashers, telling The Leeds Tab: “It started to get out of hand, and they wouldn’t leave.”

People continued arriving until eventually the police decided to pop along as well, clearing everyone out of the flat. The student was scared when the police came in, but she happened to be in her room looking after flatmates who had made the most of the £10 rounds at Ten Bar. She said: “We knew they wouldn’t believe me and my friend if we said we were just in our rooms.”

And shockingly, the police didn’t buy it. While the flat are yet to be fined, they have been issued with a warning.

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