Fines will be issued after 'at least 60 people' gather at Northampton funeral

Police will fine attendees to a funeral in Northampton yesterday after warning they cannot 'apply different rules for different people'.

Several incensed residents called the Chronicle & Echo yesterday (February 24) to report "at least 60 people" gathered at Dallington Cemetery at around midday.

Harlestone Road was reportedly lined with dozens of cars belonging to attendees.

One resident told the Chron: "Why was it allowed? They know they should only have 30 people. The organisers should know they are only allowed 30 people.

"There must have been at least 60 people.

"When I had to bury my daughter last year we could only have 30 people. It can't be different for anyone else."

Northamptonshire Police has now stated they plan to issue fines over the gathering.

Superintendent Elliot Foskett, said: “We are aware of a funeral which took place yesterday in Harlestone Road, Northampton, in which a large amount of people were gathered against the Covid-19 restrictions.

“This is one of a number of funerals we have been made aware of during the Covid-19 pandemic which have breached regulations. While I of course sympathise with anyone who has lost a loved one, we must not apply different rules for different people.

"We will therefore be taking retrospective action against those who were in attendance and will be working with the Council and the funeral directors to identify those who breached the regulations in order to issue them with fines for being part of a gathering of 15+ people.

“So many people have made incredibly hard sacrifices in the interests of protecting one another during this pandemic - having to bury their loved-ones in really difficult and harrowing circumstances with limited numbers of people in attendance. We have a duty towards these law-abiding citizens to uphold the law when it is broken like it was yesterday.”

A spokesperson for the borough council, which controls Dallington Cemetery, said: “We are aware of this incident, which was reported to the police, who are investigating further.

“We would ask anyone planning to attend a funeral to observe the guidance set out by Government.”

Nobody has yet been fined in connection with a huge lockdown-breaking Traveller funeral in Kettering, three months on from the event with police still working to identify those involved.