THE parents of a teenager who held a party in Devizes that got out of control, landing the boy with a £10,000 Covid fine under new government restrictions, have vowed to fight the charge.

They have lodged three complaints against Wiltshire Police, which imposed the fine, claiming the force made false allegations about the incident in a media statement.

The family agreed to speak to the Gazette & Herald on condition they withheld the name of their son, who is about to start university, to set the record straight and in the hope of protecting his future job prospects.

The drama started late on Friday night when a school leavers’ party on Wick Lane was gatecrashed by a large number of people, said to have been drinking in a Devizes pub.

The teenager’s dad said: “We were on holiday and my son who has just left school was told by us that he could have up to six people round.

“But instead he thought he and his friends could manage a social distancing party here for 20. One of the people invited someone else, who then invited a large number of gatecrashers. Our son tried to get rid of them and partially succeeded but some congregated on the road outside.”

The police claim 80-100 people gathered at the property, numbers hotly disputed by the boy and his family.

“We came back early from holiday and met two police officers who had attended the house and they told us that they had done a drive past, had warned people outside and to turn music down. They did not go to the house or have contact with my son and when they did go to the house he co-operated with them. There was no warning here. They went straight for the fine,” the dad said.

The family are demanding that police withdraw the fine, and apologise for the mistakes they say were made in the statement.

They say unless they get a rapid response to their complaints, they will report the matter to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

This is the first £10,000 fine issued by Wiltshire Police since the new, increased fines were introduced by the government for people holding gatherings of over 30 people, breaking anti-Covid laws.

And in what could become a test case for the new law, they also say they will take the matter to the highest court in the land to find whether someone can be fined for having gatecrashers.

“He did something wrong. He was utterly stupid. He ignored our instructions and the government advice. He is very chastened,” added Martin. “But they were gatecrashed.

“This is a completely new law. We have never had legal restrictions on the number of people in a house before. This could go to the Supreme Court as to whether you can legally impose a criminal penalty when the majority of people were gatecrashers.”

POLICE across the UK received dozens of reports of illegal gatherings over past two weekends since the new law came in to effect.

Two organisers at a rave in West Glamorgan, that attracted an estimated 3,000 people were handed fixed-penalty notices for £10,000 on Sunday.

Those facilitating or organising illegal raves, unlicensed music events, or any other unlawful gathering of more than 30 people may face a £10,000 fine. Fines of £100 can be issued to those who participate in illegal gatherings and those who have already received a fine will see the amount doubled on each offence, up to £3,200. The £10,000 fine is imposed by the police.

The person receiving it then has the choice to either pay it or contest the case in the magistrates’ court.

Wiltshire police did not issue any individual fines at the Devizes party, attended by dozens of gatecrashers and say the fine issued at the weekend was the first since the new, tougher measures were introduced.

As at the time of going to press, the family said they had not received the fixed-penalty notice from the police.

An Office for the Police and Crime Commissioner spokesman said: “We can confirm we have received a complaint in relation to this matter.This will now be dealt with following the usual process so it would be inappropriate to comment ”