‘Covidiot’ dancers perform routine in snow-covered park to outrage of locals

Police came across a huge gathering of people who had collected in a park to dance in Sunday's heavy snow.

The crowd of around 30 people were playing music and dancing in Spinney Hill Park, Leicester, when they were reprimanded by officers for flouting lockdown rules.

Not only had they gathered in huge numbers, but the careless dancers weren't wearing any face coverings and they weren't socially distancing from one another.

Footage obtained by Leicestershire Live shows the reckless crowd dancing along to the sounds of drums and pipes, as other youngsters throw snowballs at the dancers when they were mid-routine.

The video, which was taken between 3:30 and 4pm on January 24, angered local residents who couldn't believe what had unfolded in the public park.

There were also a number of other people present, most of which were families enjoying the weather but sticking to the Covid rules, which state people can only head outside for daily exercise in small groups and maintaining social distancing.

One resident said: “There is a lot of anger about what happened given. No masks or face covering, no social-distancing at all, no sense.

“The snow has frozen some brains – if those people have any.

“There’s a police station right by the park but that didn’t stop them.”

She said the police were called to as the scenes unfolded this afternoon.

A Leicestershire Police spokeswoman confirmed officers attended the scene to disperse the crowd who left within minutes.

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She said: "Police received a call just before 3.45pm this afternoon (Sunday 24 January) reporting a gathering of people in Spinney Hill Park, Leicester.

"A local officer spoke to the group and advised them they were in breach of Covid-19 regulations and advised them to disperse immediately. Within minutes of the officer arriving the group separated and left the area.

"No fines were issued."

Public health bosses in Leicester have repeatedly urged people in the city to stay at home to try to stop transmission of coronavirus.

The seven-day rate of infection in the city is 564.3 cases per 100,000 – well above the national average of 437.8 cases per 100,000.

The city’s director of public health recently warned that Leicester’s hospitals were at risk of being overwhelmed by the number of Covid-19 patients being cared for on their wards.

North West Leicestershire MP Andrew Bridgen said he had been in touch with chief constable Simon Cole about the incident.

He said: "What chance do we have of controlling the pandemic when this happens?

"No wonder Leicester has been in lockdown since March."

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