UK police break up COVID rule-breaching wedding with 400 guests

British police said on Friday they had broken up a wedding with almost 400 guests in a “completely unacceptable breach” of COVID lockdown rules which only allow six people to attend.

Under strict measures introduced at the start of the year, weddings are currently only supposed to take place under “exceptional circumstances”, but officers found hundreds of people when they were alerted to a gathering inside a school in Stamford Hill, north London,

The windows had been covered over to stop people seeing inside, and the organiser of the wedding now faced a 10,000 pound ($13,661.00) fine.

“This was a completely unacceptable breach of the law, which is very clearly in place to save lives and protect the NHS (National Health Service),” said Detective Chief Superintendent Marcus Barnett.

Cases in Britain soared at the end of last year after the outbreak of a new more contagious variant of the virus, which has led to the imposition of lockdowns across the United Kingdom, and included the strict directives on weddings.

Although the number of daily cases has fallen from a high of almost 70,000 on Jan. 8 to just under 40,000 in recent days, there is concern that too many people are breaking the rules, meaning the virus continues to spread.

On Thursday, British interior minister Priti Patel warned those who broke lockdown restrictions they faced punishment by police, and announced a new 800 pound fine for those who attended house parties.