New Year's Eve parties fined amid coronavirus rules being breached

Police broke up New Year's Eve parties which breached COVID-19 rules, despite the public being advised to stay at home.

Over 200 people were issued with fines across England last night with several of those being the maximum amount of £10,000.

The Metropolitan Police attended over 50 events that broke tier four rules in the capital, which resulted in four individuals being arrested.

Authorities had to break up illegal gatherings in areas such as Edinburgh, Essex, Manchester, Lancashire and Leicestershire, where people flouted social-distancing rules and the rule of six.

Usual annual plans to welcome in the new year with fireworks around Victoria Embankment were cancelled earlier this year, amid fears that the thousands of attendees would risk more coronavirus cases.

Instead, this year Matt Hancock, the health secretary, urged people to stay home for their celebrations.

The capital did show a replacement light display over the Thames river at midnight, watched by over 10 million viewers on BBC One. The show highlighted important topics that have dominated 2020 such as the NHS, Zoom calls, Black Lives Matter, Sir Captain Tom Moore and climate change.