Two men given £10,000 fines for organising mass snowball fight in lockdown

West Yorkshire Police said the unnamed 20-year-old and 23-year-old were tracked down after hundreds of people gathered for more than two hours on Woodhouse Moor, Leeds, on January 14, creating “a significant and completely unnecessary risk of increasing the spread of the virus”.

The snowball fight was filmed and widely shared on social media, provoking widespread condemnation as England endured freezing temperatures and strict lockdown rules, with many blaming students for the event.

A force spokesman said the 23-year-old had already received a fine in November for breaching restrictions in relation to mixing households at an address in the nearby Hyde Park area.

He said both men were interviewed on Wednesday and Thursday in relation to the incident and reported for fixed penalty notices to be issued.

Organising any gathering of more than 30 people is illegal and leaves organisers liable to a £10,000 fine under coronavirus legislation, he said.

Leeds’s police commander Chief Superintendent Damien Miller said: “We take absolutely no pleasure in handing out such heavy fines to these two young men but their actions encouraged hundreds of people to be in close proximity to each other, creating a significant and completely unnecessary risk of increasing the spread of the virus.

“It was a blatant breach of the legislation that is in place to help keep people safe at what remains a critical time for us all.

“The event attracted understandable media attention and widespread public condemnation of all those who irresponsibly took part.

“That said, it remains clear that the vast majority of people recognise the need for collective responsibility and are continuing to stick with the regulations that are there to protect our families and our communities.

“We will continue our approach of engaging, explaining and encouraging compliance but we won’t hesitate to enforce the law where people blatantly disregard the rules and put others at risk.”

Meanwhile a binman has been told not to come back to work after he was caught on camera kicking the head off a snowman.

The refuse operative was shown delivering a roundhouse-style kick to the 6ft-tall creation on a footpath in front of a house, in CCTV footage published by the Hereford Times.

He appears to casually deliver the right-footed blow while waiting for a bin to be emptied into the back of a refuse truck – afterwards returning the bin to its spot on the pavement.

The incident is reported to have happened in Hampton Rise, Hereford, following the weekend’s snowfall.

Herefordshire Council said it was “disappointed” by his conduct, adding he was an agency worker recruited to work for a council contractor, and was not directly employed by County Hall.

In a statement to the PA news agency, a Herefordshire Council spokesman said: “We are aware of this incident and are disappointed that an individual representing the council would behave in such a manner.

“The employee was a member of agency staff working on behalf of one of the council’s contractors, and he has been informed that he will not be used again.

“Information has also been circulated to all agency employees outlining the professional standards they are expected to uphold when representing a Herefordshire Council contractor.”

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