Police issued a daunting £10,000 fine after breaking up a late-night gathering of dozens of people in Kingswood, near Tadworth, on Friday night (January 2).

The gathering, which police deemed a violation of strict rules imposed to stop the spread of coronavirus, was uncovered after a large number of vehicles were found converging at an address on Stubbs Lane in Tadworth, Surrey.

Police said over 30 vehicles were found at the property, and that "an occupant at the address claimed that they were filming a video shoot for a wedding party promotion."

Like London, Surrey is currently under tough 'Tier 4' restrictions that forbid people to leave their homes except for essential or key exceptional reasons, and ban gatherings between households.

Cases of Covid-19 coronavirus are continuing to soar in Surrey at present, with over 7,800 new cases of the virus confirmed in the last seven days alone according to the county council. 

A £10,000 fixed penalty notice has been issued after we discovered a large gathering at an address in #Kingswood in the...

Posted by Surrey Police on Saturday, 2 January 2021

As such, Surrey Police announced they had issued a five-figure 'fixed penalty notice' of £10,000 in their action against the gathering.

Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Ali Barlow, responsible for local policing in Surrey, said: "We know that this remains a challenging time and that everyone is doing their best to adapt and follow the rules in place for everyone’s safety.

"We appreciate that friends and family will want to come together for special occasions and we are grateful to the majority who are adhering to the restrictions and playing their part in keeping loved ones safe and therefore supporting our frontline health colleagues.

"Our policing approach of engaging, educating and explaining remains the same.

"However, where there are exceptional cases, only as a last resort and where people show a blatant disregard for the rules, we will take enforcement action."