MORE house parties have been busted by police in Swindon, with fines dished out to more than 20 adults at the weekend.

Officers called to a property in Bembridge Close on Friday night found five adults, a teenager and two young children. All of the the adults, aged between 24 and 33, were given £200 fines. 

The following morning another group of five adults aged between 21 and 27 were fined after they were found in a house in Whitehead Street. 

In the evening, five 18-year-olds were fined at a property in Raleigh Avenue and two 17 year olds were given warnings. 

On Sunday morning, officers responded to reports of a disorder at a house in Kirkstall Close and found a group of people who had been celebrating upcoming birthdays. Six people, aged between 20 and 56, have been fined £200. 

At a property in Curlew Drive, Chippenham, five people aged between 23 and 55 were issued with fines.

Lockdown rules remain in place despite the government’s announcement of the plan to slowly lift restrictions over the coming months. 

Wiltshire Police issued 59 fixed penalty notices between February 22 and 28, bringing the total to 696. There were 93 formal warnings given to people for failing to adhere to the rules. 

The force recorded 357 reports from members of the public, either via the phone or using their online reporting tool as well as three Covid-related crimes and 38 Covid-related incidents. 

Deputy chief constable Paul Mills said: “Last week’s announcement from the prime minister, which highlighted the positive news about the battle against Covid-19 and the potential for restrictions to be lifted over the coming months, has given many people a much-needed boost.

“However, it seems that a combination of that, and other factors over the weekend such as the warmer weather, have prompted some to inadvertently believe that they had been given the green-light to start socialising again.

“In fact, the very opposite is true. The Prime Minister has made it clear that the roadmap relies on keeping cases down and we all need to continue to show restraint if we are going to see a return to normal by the summer.

“We all need to remember that we are currently still in lockdown and the stay at home message remains the same.

“As the examples from the weekend show, if we receive information that you are breaking the rules then we will take action and you should expect to receive a fine.”

Police and Crime Commissioner Angus Macpherson  added: “As we have seen recently in Swindon, the pandemic is far from over and we can very easily see cases begin to rise if we lose focus or start socialising again too quickly.

“Please make sure you are doing all you can to keep everyone safe.”