Party-goers fined for illegal lockdown rave held under Derbyshire overpass

Hundreds of pounds in Covid-19 fines have been handed out to attendees of an illegal rave held under a Derbyshire overpass during lockdown.
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The incident happened at the A38 underpass near Farmwell Lane in South Normanton on December 11, after several suspicious people had been seen walking into a wooded area.

Arriving at the scene at 10pm, police heard music blaring and a firework had just been set off. More than 20 people were at the event near the East Midlands Designer Outlet, which happened while Derbyshire was under Tier 3 lockdown. This dictated that a maximum of six people could meet in public outdoor places.

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The incident was revealed in a closed-doors hearing held at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates’ Court on June 9, detailed in a report released to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Police found a substantial amount of alcohol at the underpass, along with lights, a generator and DJ equipmentPolice found a substantial amount of alcohol at the underpass, along with lights, a generator and DJ equipment
Police found a substantial amount of alcohol at the underpass, along with lights, a generator and DJ equipment

A number of attendees received fines for breaching Covid regulations, two of which were dealt with at court last week.

Rave attendee Chloe Etches, aged 27, of Portland Road, Hucknall in Nottinghamshire, was found at the scene of the incident.

She and a group of other guests had dispersed into a field once police arrived, with other illegal rave guests “lying flat in the undergrowth”, a report from PC Paige Jones says.

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Ms Etches told PC Jones that she was celebrating the anniversary of a friend who had died.

Police found a substantial amount of alcohol at the underpass, along with lights, a generator and DJ equipment, all of which was seized.

Ms Etches was served with a £200 fine.

However, she did not pay this and did not submit a plea on her case, leading to a court hearing dealt with in her absence last week in a process called the Single Justice Procedure.

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Ms Etches was made to pay out total costs of £574, of which £440 was a fine, £90 was for court costs and a £44 victim surcharge.

PC Lovatt also details that he gave a £200 fine to Nathaniel Broome, aged 26, of Balmoral Grove, Hucknall.

However this was not paid and reached the desk of a Magistrate, increasing the overall costs due to £344, with court fees and a victim surcharge at a closed-doors hearing last week.