Police report rise in large Covid lockdown parties in England

Secretly organised via social media, illegal events are becoming more creative and sophisticated

Police forces have reported an increase in large illegal lockdown parties in recent weeks, as streams of reports from members of the public expose popup events organised in secret via social media.

We're coming across bigger events at the moment," said Stuart Bill, bronze commander for Operation Reliant, a dedicated West Midlands police taskforce for tackling significant Covid breaches. We're seeing house parties and events in warehouses and derelict buildings, but finding them can be tricky.