A Watford man who has flouted Covid-19 rules by hosting multiple parties has been fined £10,000.

Officers received a call earlier this month (March 6) at around 12.30am to reports of a large gathering with loud music on Vicarage Road.

As officers arrived, they could hear loud music and saw more than 30 people fleeing the address.

The same household hosted a New Year’s Eve party, which had between 60 and 100 people in attendance, just near Watford General Hospital which was under pressure at the time.

The organiser of the New Year’s party was given a £200 fine at the time and released with no further action.

And following the more recent party in March, the householder - a man in his late 20s – was slapped with a £10,000 fine.

Chief Inspector Ian Grout said: “Everyone is aware of the key dates on the roadmap and we’re all looking forward to the day when we can spend time with friends and family.

“In this incident, the occupier had previously been fined for having a party and was well-aware of the lockdown rules, as my officers had explained them when they issued a fine at the start of the year. To go on and have another event, this time with more than 30 people partying in close proximity, is a risk to their own health and to wider public health so it is right and proper that officers issue the £10,000 fixed penalty notice on this occasion.”

He added: “The vast majority of people are doing the right thing and following the rules and we really are so close to lockdown restrictions being lifted that it is important to keep it up.

“We know it is so tough being separated from our friends and families, as we are all going through the same thing, but we urge you to do all you can to help combat this virus. If we pull together and see it through hopefully normal life isn’t far away.”