Police break up lockdown house party where eight people were playing dominoes and a banjo

Police in Staffordshire were forced to break up a house party where guests were discovered playing dominos and a banjo during lockdown.

Eight people had visited a property in Hanley and were discovered by Staffordshire Police Response at around 1am on Tuesday morning.

The visitors to the property had broken current coronavirus lockdown rules, which prohibit groups of more than two people from different households.

The unit tweeted: "Officers have just attended a house party in Hanley whereby eight visitors to the address were sat around playing the banjo and having a game of dominoes.

"Clearly this is not following the social distancing guidelines and they have been dealt with accordingly."

Latest coronavirus news, updates and advice

Live: Follow all the latest updates from the UK and around the world

Fact-checker: The number of COVID-19 cases in your local area

6 charts and maps that explain how COVID-19 is spreading

A spokesman for Staffordshire Police added to Burton Live: "Officers attended and explained the importance of social distancing and current government guidelines.

"The individuals who did not reside at the address left accordingly.”

In another incident, police in Essex reported a motorist for driving “because they were bored with lockdown” after they crashed into a metal fence in Chelmsford.

The government plans to review lockdown guidelines once the initial three-week period ends on Monday.

London mayor Sadiq Khan said the capital was “nowhere near” ready to relax the lockdown, following the deaths of 14 transport workers.

Coronavirus: what happened today

Click here to sign up to the latest news, advice and information with our daily Catch-up newsletter