£10,000 fine after ‘around 150’ attend event at Jewish school

The organisers of a remembrance event at a Jewish school in Hertfordshire have been handed a £10,000 fine after around 150 people showed up.

Officers attended the Hitchin Yeshiva school in a village near to Hitchin in North Hertfordshire on Saturday and found a “large group” had gathered for the service.

Only six people are legally permitted at a wake, and only up to 30 at a funeral. But police discovered that approximately 150 had attended the school during the day in defiance of coronavirus rules.

Chief Inspector Jon Roche, of North Hertfordshire police, said he sympathised with those grieving but that the rules were in place to stop coronavirus.

“The lockdown rules are clear and we all have a moral duty to play our part and help save lives,” he said.

“Breaching the regulations sets us all back and is the wrong thing to do when so many others have made sacrifices. The £10,000 fine should act as a real deterrent – we will act and fine those who are blatantly flouting the law.”