THE ORGANISER of a mass gathering at a house in Stalybridge has been fined £10,000.
Officers from Greater Manchester Police found 47 people in a property on the Cypress Oaks estate attending what is understood by The Correspondent to have been a wake.
And when they tried to disperse them, trouble broke out with three people arrested.
Now the person responsible for the gathering at the rented property has been hit with the maximum fine available under Covid-19 lockdown regulations.
The house itself had a closure notice placed on it after the incident on Saturday night.
That lasted for 24 hours and it is thought neither the police nor Tameside Council sought to extend it, which they could have done for up to three months.
It is understood the owner of the property which was hired out is not culpable for any of the fines or punishments given out.
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: “After 30 mins of trying to reason with what turned out to be 47 guests, disorder broke out and residents were disturbed by the individuals that were present.
“As a result a number of arrests were made – 1 x male adult for police assault and public order offences, 1 x male juvenile for police assault, 1 x male adult for public order offences.”
The fact police were having to disperse a gathering was seized upon by several people on social media, many of whom complained they should be chasing ‘real’ criminals.
However, the force itself complained its time was taken up by dealing with this issue.
The spokesman added: “Whilst officers were engaged with this incident, the calls to police grew and genuine victims of crime were kept waiting.
“This could’ve been avoided if the occupants did their bit and held off on the house party until a more suitable time!”
A Greater Manchester Police spokesman said: “A 23-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy have both been arrested on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker. They have both been released under investigation pending further enquiries.
“A 25-year-old man was also arrested on suspicion of public order and released under investigation pending further enquiries.”