Rubbish was left strewn on the grass- (Image: NB PRESS LTDMirror Online: LONDON, England – Horrendous images from Leeds’ Hyde Park show fights breaking out as sun-seekers packed the park amid a mini heatwave.
Like other parks around the country, it was left strewn with litter on Thursday morning with bottles of beer and empty food packaging among the rubbish.
Photos show young men trying to hold one man back as tensions appeared heated. Another who was photographed topless appeared to have patches of blood and scratches on his face and torso.
Park crowds and resulting rubbish were seen in other major parks as lockdown measures relaxed on Monday, as concerns were felt over the enforcing of the rule of six.
Forest Recreation Ground in Nottingham was also left with huge amounts of litter after a late night party last night.
Pictures also showed the moulds of rubbish left behind by a crowd following an illegal event in Manchester city centre on Wednesday night that featured a live DJ set.
Sophie Meredith, studying for a doctorate in Leeds, said Woodhouse Moor was “packed” on Tuesday night, predominantly with students, and large amounts of waste such as cans, bottles and boxes were left on Wednesday morning.
“I walked around the park rather than through it because it was so busy and there wasn’t much or any social distancing going on,” the 26-year-old told PA.
“It’s really disgusting that people left their litter piled up by the bins and across the grass, and it’s an issue that happens every time there’s a hot day in Leeds. Today was the worst I’ve ever seen it.
“It’s probably made worse by the fact that everyone’s been cooped up for a year and there are not enough bins in that park.”
Further footage shows London’s Hyde Park similarly littered on Wednesday. The Mirror has contacted West Yorkshire Police for comment.
A popular Nottingham park has been yet again covered in huge amounts of litter after a late-night party.
At least 200 people gathered at the Forest Recreation Ground on Wednesday night.
Witnesses said revellers were not wearing masks or social distancing.
Nottinghamshire Police attended the scene party but observed from the sidelines as the gathering continued in darkness in the centre of a playing field,
On Thursday morning, Nottingham City Council workers have yet again been left with the task of cleaning up vast swathes of litter.
Beer bottles, plastic cups, carrier bags and even an abandoned Wind scooter are just some of the items which were dumped on the park over night.
Lenton Recreation Ground and the Arboretum were subsequently closed by the council after hundreds of young people took part in drinking, fighting, and even climbing trees in the popular beauty spot.
Despite heightened security at these locations, it did not stop people taking to the Forest Recreation Ground to party and break the rules.
Wales First Minister Mark Drakeford said he was “shocked” by the amounts of litter and rubbish also left outside the Senedd at Cardiff Bay from people meeting up and drinking.
“I’ve seen the photographs and I’ve seen the accounts on television, and to be honest that is shocking,” he told BBC Radio Wales on Thursday morning.
“I’ve been a strong supporter of the police’s approach in Wales of inform, educate and persuade, and that is absolutely the right thing to do first.
“Where people deliberately and intentionally set out to do things that can cause a risk to other people, then both local authority and police have powers that they can use.”
Mr Drakeford said he was concerned the progress Wales was making in controlling the spread of coronavirus could be undone by people ignoring the rules.
“I am concerned because when you see those scenes then it does tell us that there is a small minority of people in Wales who still somehow believe that coronavirus doesn’t mean them,” he said.
“We’ve had people in their 20s and their 30s dying in Wales because of coronavirus. Every one of us needs to go on behaving in ways that keeps ourselves and other people safe from it.”
