Ravers who held a ‘secret festival’ in the middle of Britain’s coronavirus lockdown have been branded ‘disgusting’ as neighbours in Nottingham begged VE Day street party gatecrashers to ‘f*** off’ after it grew out of control.
Around 40 people were seen drinking in a wooded field near Mansfield at an event tagged as #secretfestival, but photos and videos of the party were posted on a public Facebook page.
The images featured a large group posing together, alongside a clip -entitled ‘who need Creamfields’, in reference to the annual dance event.
Hundreds of people shared the post with furious replies including: ‘We’ve still got over 300 people dying every day, what do you think will happen if we all did what you lot are doing? Wise up before it’s too late. Hope you didn’t take anything home with you.’
Around 40 people were thought to have attended the ‘secret festival,’ in Mansfield which was shared publicly on Facebook
But Joe Buchanan, who attended last Friday’s event and posted pictures on Facebook, was unrepentent. He told those who complained on the website: ‘I’m 100% just winding people up now. I’m not the one making everyone stay at home. I didn’t invent corona. I didn’t make anyone go out.
‘I hear what you’re saying but it had nothing to do with you or your household. The same as every one else with their comments. If it happened outside someone’s house I could understand, but it was people who chose to go. I was just one person who took a photo.
‘Anyone would think I sneezed on their nana.’
One NHS worker wrote: ‘It’s not really funny is it? It’s serious and us on the frontline want to party and see our mates as well but we can’t because we want everyone coming out of this alive.
Joe Buchanan, who shared a picture from the ‘secret festival was unrepentant after the event faced backlash online
‘It’s serious, people are dying or have been really ill, you may think you won’t get it but you could be a silent carrier and surely you don’t want to risk passing anything on. If you become poorly or a loved one does you’ll be straight up asking the NHS for help.’
Mr Buchanan later told the Mansfield Chad newspaper: “The situation has been blown way out of proportion.
‘Apart from posing for one photo, social distancing was maintained as we were outside in a large open space. People that gathered were respectful – we took our rubbish and had no complaints while there.
‘It’s such a shame people have nothing better to do than troll people online, right after posting a meme saying “be kind”.’
It’s understood one of the people attending the event is a cleaner at a nearby factory that creates food parcels.
Furious social media users branded attendees of the ‘secret festival’ as ‘digusting’ after footage was shared online
Lisa Gunn, who is categorised as clinically vulnerable and is currently receiving food parcels from a warehouse run by supply company Bidfood, where one of the attendees allegedly worked.
She said: ‘I’m now weighing up whether to refuse them, knowing at least one person packing them has potentially exposed themselves to the virus.
‘You’re risking spreading it to hundreds of vulnerable people who are doing anything they can to stay safe.’
A spokesman from Bidfood said: ‘We have been made aware about the breach of our Covid-19 policy by an individual working at a site we are operating from in Huthwaite.
A cleaner at a factory where food parcels are packaged is understood to have been one of the people attending last Friday’s event in Mansfield
‘We can confirm that this person does not work for Bidfood but is a cleaner supplied by one of our contractors, who recently started working at the site removing rubbish.
‘This person does not pack the government food parcels that we are delivering to the vulnerable.
‘We would like to reassure local residents that we take health and safety extremely seriously and have a very strict social distancing policy in operation.’
Police in Nottingham were called out to a VE Day street party that grew out of control last Friday after hosting a DJ playing music and a barbecue.
In a video from the party, a man is heard shouting: ‘If you’re not from the ends… f*** off.
‘Whoever is born and bred on the ends, stay here, this is our home innit. If you don’t live round here just circle innit. Round up your troops and just go, I beg you.’
Police had to be called to a street in Bilborough, Nottingham last Friday as crowds gathered during VE Day celebrations
Another woman tells the crowds: ‘What the officers are saying is… stay in your gardens and keep your distance.
‘If you are going to be here you’re going to have to stand in twos (with) who you came with.’
Two fines were issued to people who refused to adhere to the social distancing rules at the street party.
Police were called to the scene last Friday, VE Day, by residents who were concerned about ‘the large number of attendees and some people breaching social distancing rules.’
Neighbourhood Inspector Gordon Fenwick, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: ‘Officers who attended engaged with some of the people present and gave strong words of advice to those who were not social distancing.
‘Officers remained at the event and issued two fines to individuals who decided not to follow the advice that was given.
Victory in Europe Day celebrations got out of hand in Bilborough, Nottingham, last week and police had to be called
‘The officers spoke to and worked with the event organiser who tried to reinforce the message about people needing to follow the social distancing rules.
‘Parts of the group began to move on and most of the people had left by 9pm.’
So far during the lockdown, Nottinghamshire Police have issued 117 fines, with the majority being to young men aged between 18 and 30.
Chief Superintendent Rob Griffin added: ‘We have been clear from the outset that our approach during the coronavirus outbreak has been to engage with members of the public, explain the current Covid-19 regulations and encourage people to follow the instructions.
‘We have only used enforcement when it has been absolutely necessary to do so.
Neighbours asked revellers to get back into their gardens after police were called to the street party in Bilborough that featured a DJ and a BBQ last Friday
‘The vast majority of people our officers have spoken to have been really understanding and have listened to the advice we have given them.
‘It’s pleasing that in this instance members of the community have been really supportive, actively helping with bringing some normality and encouraging people to follow the rules.
‘Our priority is to keep people safe and we have found, as we did with the incident on this street, that by escalating our response appropriately and only where necessary we have resolved things safely.’
In Ashford, Kent hungry KFC customers have caused queues so long that a bus company has been forced to close its nearby stop.
Bus operator Stagecoach announced it would stop running buses to a stop in Eureka Leisure Park, Ashford, Kent, for the rest of this week as cars queuing for some drive thru chicken were blocking the estate’s roads.
The fast food restaurant was one 55 KFC drive-thrus to reopen at the start of May, with KFC warning customers ‘please, please don’t all rush at once’.
Traffic has been queuing at KFC’s drive-thru in Eureka Leisure Park, Ashford since it reopened, Karen May was sat behind other hungry customers on May 7
Less than two weeks later buses are turning away from the park.
Stagecoach South East told passengers on Wednesday: ‘Due to an extremely large number of vehicles queuing for a tasty KFC we will be unable to serve Eureka Cinema until 18th May 2020.
‘Please use Thomson road bus stops along Trinity Road. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.’
Before Stagecoach’s announcement, there were already complaints over queues from locals, after KFC changed the branch from delivery only to open for drive thru customers.
KFC customers in Eureka Leisure Park are causing traffic problems in Ashford, Kent
Within days of the restaurant reopening, Robert Brown commented: ‘Long queues at Eureka Park KFC drive thru it’s like people have never had chicken before.’
A KFC spokesman told KentOnline: ‘We know it’s tempting, but please, please don’t all rush at once.
‘Delivery remains the best way to get your fried chicken fix – we just want to offer a little more choice to those who are already on the road for essential journeys or on their way home from difficult shifts.’
Starbucks opened some of its drive-thrus to huge demand today, with long queues being spotted in Liverpool, Manchester and Portsmouth.
Starbucks’ drive-thru staff are out advising queuing traffic after the chain opened 150 of its stores on Thursday
The coffee chain has opened 150 of its stores, with key workers getting a free drink, as workers pull up to buy their caffeine fix.
On Wednesday police had to close a Burger King after drive-thru traffic wreaked havoc in the town of Elgin.
North Wales Police told an tourist from Middlesex to go home after he’d driven more than 200 miles to visit Tywyn.
Police in Gwynedd said: ‘The driver has been reported and told to return home. Restrictions in Wales remain. We look forward to welcoming visitors back when safe to do so.’
The town of Elgin was plagued by traffic on Wednesday after Burger King reopened its drive-thru to customers
Wales and Scotland remain in a tighter state of lockdown than England, which changed its Stay Home message to Stay Alert at the weekend.
Rangers patrolling the Pentland Hills in Edinburgh say they have found evidence of gatherings, despite parks remaining closed in Scotland.
Victor Partridge, natural heritage officer, said the park has had ‘the occasional campfire or party to deal with’.
He advised volunteers to keep their distance and phone police if they saw anyone breaking lockdown rules at the beauty spot.