Friday Evening the Senedd saw 100’s of people gathering to drink and ‘party’ despite lockdown rules still being in place
Just days after three police officers were injured and litter was dumped all over the waterfront in an identical breach of Covid-19 rules.
Huw Thomas (The Leader of Cardiff City Council) stated that the people who took part should be “deeply ashamed of themselves”.
A maximum of 6 to meet out doors are the current Covid-19 restrictions, calls were consistently made to the police but no action was taken until late in the evening.
On our Facebook page we released several videos showing people singing and drinking from later afternoon and well into the evening.
Cardiff New Online have been informed that apparently police had taken over from council marshals, who had been patrolling the site in the day, after the situation “escalated”.
It is not known if any arrests have been made.
Math Wiliam, who lives in Cardiff Bay and works for a Plaid Cymru Member of the Senedd and is a member of the party, told BBC Wales: “There were hundreds, possibly over 1,000 people, out in Cardiff Bay engaging in what I would describe as partying, with the largest cohort assembled on the steps of the Senedd.
“There was no adherence to social distancing rules, which was unsurprising given that many people were heavily under the influence.”
He added the number of people coming to the bay had been “increasing daily”.
Mr Thomas stated: “We have been in close communication with the police throughout the day.
“This is concerning and disappointing. It flies in the face of the regulations, which are there to keep us safe.
“I anticipate a bombsite there tomorrow. We’d put out extra wheelie bins, but rubbish is just being dumped. The clear-up will mean an unnecessary cost to the council and so the taxpayer.
“But this is about public health and a clear abuse of the rules. I worry about a spike in cases after this. It in fact risks prolonging restrictions, rather than easing them, as people there seemed to be complaining about.”
As of last Saturday, people in Wales are allowed to travel anywhere within the country and meet a maximum of six different people from two different households outdoors. Pubs remain closed until at least the 26 of April and it is still against the rules to travel between Wales and the other UK nations without a reasonable excuse.
Earlier this week, police said violence and anti-social behaviour would “not be tolerated” as people gathered in the same area on Tuesday.
South Wales Police said a number of missiles, including bottles, were thrown at officers, three of whom suffered minor injuries, during the disorder earlier in the week.
Cardiff council said on Wednesday that it had taken three hours to clean up the “unacceptable amount of litter” in Cardiff Bay and the city’s parks.
There are calls for more bins, to reduce the litter on these 2 rare occasions and blatant breach against the rules.
What do you think? do you think there should be more bins for illegal gatherings?
If Mr Thomas was in constant contact with the Police regarding the matter, shouldnt somehting have been done sooner?