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Police Find 400 Wedding Guests Hidden In Blacked Out School Building

Police Find 400 Wedding Guests Hidden In Blacked Out School Building

Organisers had blacked out the windows at the Yesodey Hatorah Senior Girls' School in Stamford Hill, London

Rebecca Shepherd

Rebecca Shepherd

Police were called to break up a wedding party last night (21 January) and turned up to discover 400 people in attendance.

Officers turned up to the Yesodey Hatorah Senior Girls' School in Stamford Hill, London, at around 9.15pm and found the windows had been covered.

Google Maps

Guests fled from the Charedi strictly Orthodox Jewish school and police have confirmed the organisers have been reported for consideration of a £10,000 for breaking coronavirus regulations.

There were also five other attendees that were issued with the standard £200 fixed penalty notices.

Detective Chief Superintendent Marcus Barnett of the Met Police said: "This was a completely unacceptable breach of the law, which is very clearly in place to save lives and protect the NHS. An NHS that is under considerable pressure at a time when Covid-19 has killed nearly 100,000 people.

"This is a deadly and very dangerous disease. We can all see that and we must act responsibly.

"People across the country are making sacrifices by cancelling or postponing weddings and other celebrations and there is no excuse for this type of behaviour.

"My officers are working tirelessly with the community and we will not hesitate to take enforcement action if that is required to keep people safe."

According to The Sun, the school was run by Rabbi Avrohom Pinter, until his death from coronavirus last April.

PA

In a statement to Jewish News, the school said it 'condemned it in the strongest possible terms', adding that it is 'absolutely horrified'.

It goes on to say: "We lease our hall to an external organisation which manages all lettings and, as such, we had no knowledge that the wedding was taking place.

"We have terminated the agreement with immediate effect.

"We are investigating how this shocking breach has happened and have no plans to re-lease the premises to any third party. We deplore the actions of anyone in any community breaking the law and risking people's lives in this way."

The mayor of Hackney, Philip Glanville, said: "I am deeply disappointed that events of this nature are still happening in Stamford Hill, despite the very grave pandemic situation we find ourselves in, and the number of lives that have already been lost in the Charedi community and across the borough.

"We support the police in taking such rapid and firm action. We had already written to venues including this school reminding them of the regulations and are shocked that they are continuing to breach them.

"Whilst we appreciate the central role that weddings play in the life of all our communities the current regulations are there to protect everyone.

"We will be meeting with the Rabbinate and our community partners over the coming days to see how we can prevent further incidents of this nature."

LADbible has reached out to the school for further comment.

Featured Image Credit: Google Maps

Topics: UK News, News, Coronavirus