Top cop warns revellers to behave ahead of pubs’ reopening tomorrow

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South London’s top cop has warned he will come down hard on block parties and louts as pubs prepare for reopening tomorrow.

Commander Colin Wingrove, of Lambeth and Southwark, said officers will be out in force this weekend to prevent the need for recurrences of the confrontations in three parts of the patch – and on Tooting Bec Common in Wandsworth – in the last week.

Unlicensed gatherings sparked dispersal orders in Angell Town on June 24-25 and on Clapham Common and Burgess Park last weekend.

And Wingrove said: “We do not want people to go to illegal gatherings.

“If they do, our approach has been consistent. We explain with people, we explain the regulations, we encourage them to leave and then if necessary we will take enforcement action.

“It applies to all gatherings. We need to disperse them to prevent the risk of crime and violence – but also the risk to the health of the public.

“We have plans in place with local officers patrolling local areas with intelligence which tells us about events occurring. We have been getting calls from the public, telling us they need help.

“Unlicensed events have no health and safety considerations; or concern for noise and behaviour, no stewarding. We will take action because the community does want the noise these events bring.

“And they pose a health risk during this crisis. We are all concerned about a second spike.”

Commander Bas Javid, of Frontline Policing, said: ““Those who go to unlicensed music events are putting themselves, their families and their communities at risk. I urge anyone considering attending an event like this to re-think their plans.

“I urge communities to keep helping police by continuing to report this illegal activity.”

Commissioner Cressida Dick has also warned: “We have seen some large numbers of people completely flouting the health regulations, seeming not to care at all about their own or their families’ health..

“Some people have drunk far too much. Some people are just angry and aggressive and some people are plain violent.

“We will close events down.”

Lambeth council said workers spent hours “cleaning up the mess” left on Clapham Common. Social media posters branded the behaviour “disgusting” and a “disgrace”.

A spokesman for the council said: “Have a nice time at the Common yesterday? Cheeky lie in this morning? Good for you, meanwhile our teams have been out all morning trying to clear up the mess you left behind. Bins full? Take it home. Can’t take it home? Fill a bag and leave it by the bins.”

Tom Morgan, who posted a photo of a council worker picking up the discarded waste, said: “The sheer volume of broken glass, rubbish and human excrement can’t even be put into words, and pictures do not do it justice.”

Lewisham council last weekend closed Upper Park early after complaints about late-night noise, littering on a “festival scale”, and “widespread human soiling”.

Cops heard about the Angell Town event at 1pm that day and asked the organsiers not to hold it that afternoon. A sound system was confiscated at 7pm but another one was in place at 9pm. At midnight, officers moved in to clear the area. Four people were charged. Another three males have been bailed pending further enquiries.

In total, 27 officers were injured, none seriously, but two required hospital treatment. A small number of police vehicles were damaged.