Dozens attend house party in Rickmansworth Road in Watford

Footage taken in the early hours of this morning (June 19) shows a row of police cars with flashing lights in Rickmansworth Road.

Police have confirmed they were called to reports of a disturbance at around 11.45pm.

According to a resident, more than 150 people attended an address and it came just hours after Watford’s mayor urged locals to "take sensible steps" to bring case levels of coronavirus down in the town.

Cases have been rising in Watford over the last couple of weeks and the "far more contagious" Delta strain, which originated in India, has become the dominant strain in the town.

Just some of the police cars called to the incident in Rickmansworth Road overnight

Police arrived at the scene at around midnight and were said to still be there at 2.45am moving on partygoers.

A video taken at 2am shows crowds of youngsters huddled in the street, near the junction with The Chase, with plenty of screaming and shouting and sirens blaring in the background.

There was a line of police vehicles – the resident says they counted 12 police vehicles and 27 officers, and said an ambulance also turned up at around 2.30am.

Police have not provided too much information at this stage except to confirm the gathering was dispersed. A spokesperson said the gathering was estimated to be in "excess of 50 people" adding action is being "considered" regarding Covid breaches.

A resident, who does not want to be named, said they overhead the revellers saying the event had been "arranged over the Internet" and believes as many as 200, including local teenagers, may have been in attendance.

The resident said: "While the commotion was happening, I heard a few local teenagers from the area mention it was arranged on the internet. Although it obviously disturbed lots of residents who took to the streets to watch from lack of sleep, the police were great and controlled the situation well.

"At 2.30am an ambulance arrived and I'd seen enough of the unmasked teenagers screaming and running riot so I retreated to bed and the last I knew it was 2.45am and the police were dispersing crowds."

The event would have breached coronavirus restrictions with only six people or two households allowed to meet indoors under current guidelines.

Earlier in the day, Watford Borough Council had posted a video in which the town’s mayor Peter Taylor had warned about Covid cases "doubling" in Watford.

Mr Taylor said: "Over the last month, we have seen the number of Covid cases double in our town. That’s as a result of the new Delta strain becoming the dominant form of the virus here

"The Delta strain is far more contagious and so it’s really important that we all take sensible steps to try and bring down the number of Covid cases locally.

"The best thing any of can do is to receive our Covid vaccination as soon as we’re able to."

All over 18’s are now eligible to book their first Covid jab.

Just under 100 people living in Watford have tested positive for Covid within the last ten days and cases are rising across Hertfordshire.

The county’s director of public health, Jim McManus, told the Observer yesterday he was "concerned" about the rise in cases.

He said: "We are concerned about the rise, because we want to keep the numbers of cases as low as possible so we can continue returning to some kind of normality. The rise in cases also raises the risk that a new variant will emerge which reduces vaccine effectiveness yet further.

"If meeting people indoors, make sure the venue is well-ventilated. Meeting outdoors for now is much lower risk if the weather allows.

"It is absolutely critical to get double vaccinated, take a test twice-a-week, and self-isolate if you are told to."

See more: 'Concern' after rise in Delta Covid cases in Hertfordshire