An illegal rave on a beach in Merseyside was shut down by police in the early hours of Sunday (February 7) morning.

Merseyside Police were called to the event, which was held at the National Trust’s Formby beach in Sefton, at around 12.50am following reports of people gathering and loud music.

Police told ITV News that approximately 100 people were found partying at the location during the national coronavirus lockdown. DJ equipment and lighting was seized and 64 people were issued with fixed penalty notices.

Deputy Chief Constable Serena Kennedy spoke of the importance of following lockdown rules, stressing that surge testing is taking place a few miles from the beach.

“Targeted testing for the South African COVID variant is currently taking place across three wards in Sefton after a second case of the new variant was detected,” she told ITV. “We have also seen cases of the E484K mutation of coronavirus in Liverpool this week.

Merseyside Police handed out more than 100 fines to people breaking covid rules over the weekend. Police shut down an illegal rave on Formby beach during the early hours of Sunday, before being tipped off about a gym still operating in Speke on Sunday afternoon. #HeartNews pic.twitter.com/FOFDNfsDOy

— North West News (@HeartNWNews) February 8, 2021

“It is now as important as ever that our communities in Sefton and across Merseyside stick to the national lockdown rules which means people should not be leaving their homes for non-essential reasons or meeting up with other people outside their household or support bubble.”

It’s the latest report of an illegal raves attended by people in the UK during the nationwide lockdowns or restrictive tier system. In October, hundreds attended an illegal rave held in Barking, east London.