More than 80 fines issued to New Year's Eve rule-breakers in Sussex
Sussex Police has thanked the vast majority of the public for staying in
Last updated 1st Jan 2021
Police have issued dozens of fines across Sussex to those who breached Tier 4 coronavirus regulations on New Year's Eve.
A total of 81 fixed penalty notices were handed out by officers, nine of which were in West Sussex.
It comes after the force urged the public to stay at home on New Year's Eve for safety reasons, to avoid spreading the new, highly contagious variant of Covid-19.
The vast majority of the fines - 66 - were given out in Brighton and Hove, with a further six being issued in East Sussex.
The reasons for them ranged from outdoor gatherings of groups in public spaces, to private parties, and people travelling from outside the area into the county.
Sussex Police said no large-scale events were held on Brighton beach, but several tickets were issued to groups gathering there.
During the same period - from 6pm to 3am - a total of 44 arrests were made across Sussex for offences which included public order, assault and drink driving.
One of those was in Crawley, where a 43-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of public order offences after police received reports of a man shouting abuse in Broadfield Park.
Chief Superintendent Tanya Jones of Sussex Police said:
"We know that this remains a challenging time and we are pleased to report that the vast majority of people are doing the right thing and following the regulations.
"We appreciate that on significant dates such as New Year, loved ones want to come together and we are hugely grateful to the vast majority who adhered to the restrictions and played their part in keeping loved ones safe and therefore supporting our frontline NHS workers.
"Our well-established policing approach of engaging, educating and explaining has been widely responded to in a positive manner by the public.
"However, as we demonstrated last night, where people show a blatant disregard for the rules or are not willing to engage with officers, we will take enforcement action.
"As always, we are hugely grateful to our colleagues who sacrificed seeing in the New Year with their own loved ones in order to help keep the public safe.”