Sheffield students hit with £34,000 fine after 150 attend a Ranmoor party
Police have released bodycam footage
A party attended by 150 people in Ranmoor Student Village was shut down by police in the early hours of Thursday morning, with £34,000 worth of fines issued to the party-goers.
One man was charged £10,000 after admitting he had organised and facilitated the event.
Police said between 30 and 40 others were charged an £800 Fixed Penalty Notice for attending. DJ decks and a laptop were also seized.
The following bodycam footage, released by South Yorkshire Police, shows officers first arriving at the scene.
The University of Sheffield will be using the video footage to identify others in attendance.
Sheffield City Centre Inspector, Ali Bywater, said: “The actions of all those present were incredibly selfish and the fact that so many went to great lengths to flee from officers is evidence that they knew what they were doing was wrong.
“At one point, there were 14 police officers on scene; that’s 14 officers who could have been dealing with other important matters across the county.”
The halls, occupied by students from the University of Sheffield, previously had the third-highest number of new coronavirus cases.
The university said they “strongly condemn any breaches of government regulations” and the “vast majority” of students are sticking to the rules.
They added: “Our University Security Services and South Yorkshire Police have been working very closely and we have been clear and consistent with our messaging around student conduct and behaviour, regularly stressing to students that it is their social responsibility to adhere to government guidance.
“We will continue to take action if we receive specific reports of anti-social behaviour, including reports of social distancing not being adhered to, as well as provide practical and emotional support to students who may be struggling at this time.”
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Featured image credit: Joel Moore, taken from previous story of Sheffield’s illegal Halloween rave.