Party of 200 students broken up by police

Students could be “fast-tracked” to exclusion after police broke up a party of 200 people at a university halls of residence.

Video footage shared on Snapchat shows large crowds dancing to loud music in a courtyard outside St Peter's Court, which houses University of Nottingham students, on Saturday night.

There were no reports of arrests as the crowd quickly dispersed after officers arrived but a police investigation is ongoing.

The University of Nottingham said there was “no excuse” for people flouting coronavirus regulations and that it would be taking “disciplinary action”.

A spokeswoman said: "The overwhelming majority of students are following the rules and there are now just 16 cases of Covid-19 reported in a student population of 35,000.

"However, there is no excuse, we have been abundantly clear that where a minority breach Covid restrictions we will act, in concert with Nottinghamshire Police where necessary.

"In the most serious cases, students will be fast-tracked to the highest levels of our process where suspension and exclusion are potential outcomes."

The gathering was just one of a number of parties broken up by Nottinghamshire Police on Saturday night.

Officers issued £200 fixed penalty notices to 21 people found inside a flat in Pilcher Gate, while the organiser of another large party in Corporation Oaks was issued a court summons.

Elsewhere in the county, officers issued another five £200 fixed penalty notices after responding to reports of a party in a field in Gonalston, near Lowdham.

Investigations continue to identify the organiser of that event, and a driver who crashed into a police car as they fled the scene.

Detective Superintendent Andrew Gowan, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: "The very last thing we want to be doing as police officers is to be punishing people for gathering together and having fun.

"However, the current national restrictions are in place to protect the wider public from harm and we will keep enforcing them for as long as we need to.

"Whilst it is heartening that the vast majority of people clearly understand and are obeying the current restrictions, it is deeply disappointing that so many others needed such an expensive reminder that the rules apply equally to everyone.

"We understand that this is a difficult time but there really are no excuses for this kind of behaviour where people are blatantly ignoring the restrictions in such large numbers."

Nottingham was forced into tier 3 restrictions before the national lockdown as a result of having one of the highest coronavirus case rates in the country.

The city will be placed back into the highest level of restrictions once the tier system is reintroduced on Wednesday.

Additional reporting by PA

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