Burnley police chief's appeal for public and licensed premises to 'take responsibility' and follow Covid 19 guidelines

Officers were called out to the gathering at the house in Venice Avenue just before 8am yesterday.

And the people hosting the event reportedly told officers that Covid 19 was 'made up."

Inspector Chris Valentine said: "The people making the claim didn't seem to mind having a houseful of people, despite having two teenage children themselves.

"This got me thinking about people being socially responsible.

"People have become too blasé about things. Just because covid isn’t always fatal doesn’t mean we can ignore it.

"I just cannot understand anyone who would risk infecting themselves or the people they care about.

"Take the people at the house party for example. As a parent I do everything humanly possible to protect my son and hate seeing him when he’s ill.

"Why would anyone deliberately expose their family to disease for the sake of having a few drinks?"

On Friday night officers were alerted to another house party in the Briercliffe area of the town. The found over 20 people at the property and the home owner immediately disbanded the party.

Inspector Valentine said anyone who repeatedly organises events that break the regulations and guidelines will be issued with the relevant fines.

He went on to say that a friend of his had tested positive for the virus even though he had been following the guidelines, adding: "Unfortunately the job he does places him at higher risk of infection.

"At the time of the test he didn’t have any symptoms himself. However, his daughter had a slight temperature so the whole family went for a test and three of them tested positive.

"A few days after the test he’s now suffering with the full symptoms and they’re all isolating at home."

Police officers have been out and about over the Bank Holiday weekend ensuring that licensed premises in the town are following social distancing guidelines and restrictions.

Over the past few weeks officers from Burnley Council licensing enforcement team have been working in partnership with Burnley Police.

Premises have been visited and evidence has been obtained that puts the venues in breach of Covid-19 regulations. As a result of this, various prohibition notices have been served on these premises.

Although this does not require the venue to close or cease trading, this prohibits the activity that they were allowing to take place. Regular checks are being conducted throughout Burnley and Padiham and those who are found to be continually breaching Covid-19 regulations could face tougher penalties.

Inspector Valentine said: "A certain Burnley town centre licensed premises has been referred for the second time to the licensing department for social distancing breaches and this worries me about keeping my own family, my team and the people of east Lancashire safe.

"The guidelines are there for a reason so please let’s all take some responsibility and do our bit.

"I don’t go to the pub or meet family because I personally don’t believe it’s safe yet.

"I wear a face mask when in public buildings and keep my distance from others.

"I can’t make decisions for you so please act responsibly. My team are on for the rest of the weekend and the Bank Holiday.

"If you do go out then be responsible about it but rest assured if you breach the regulations then don’t be surprised if you receive a fine."

The police chief pointed out that every covid breach where officers had to be deployed was a 'completely avoidable' situation, adding: "This stops us from patrolling areas that are suffering from crime.

"Trust me when I say we’d much rather be out looking for burglars and thieves than putting our personal safety at risk breaking up irresponsible people who can’t resist cramming as many people as possible in to their front room just to drink cheap lager and exchange the air they breach for hours on end."

Inspector Valentine added that police numbers were stretched as the 'best of times' and covid just added more pressure.

He said: " If everyone did their bit and encouraged the people they know to follow the rules this will be over much quicker and the police will have more time to spend helping people who genuinely need us."