The mayor of Liverpool says pictures of people partying on the street have “shamed” the city.
Joe Anderson posted on Twitter: “These pictures shame our city, attacking our brave police officers is unacceptable.
“Our health service is creaking, 300 in Hospital and 30 people dead in week. Ignoring these facts is why we are in Tier 3 measures.”
It follows pictures of crowds ignoring social distancing and dancing in Concert Square last night, one of the city’s busiest nightlife hotspots, ahead of the city entering Tier 3 restrictions today.
The “large crowd” had to be dispersed after pubs closed at 10pm last night – two hours before the tough new coronavirus restrictions were imposed at midnight.
A video posted to Snapchat that showed last night’s crowds was captioned: “Herd immunity, here we come.”
In another piece of footage, apparently filmed from a nearby flat, a police car could be seen driving through a crowd while revellers banged their hands on the side of the vehicle.
Few appeared to be wearing masks or following social distancing measures.
From Wednesday, Liverpool and the neighbouring five boroughs which make up the city region will be under Tier 3 coronavirus measures, which include the closure of bars, pubs which do not serve meals, gyms, betting shops and casinos.