At least 10 people were fined and the owner of a restaurant referred to the trading standards authority after police raided a gathering at a Ewell restaurant on Saturday (February 27).

Police in Epsom and Ewell who responded to the event urged people to continue helping fight the spread of Covid-19 after they attended the event after a tip-off concerning a "large gathering" in the area.

A spokesperson for the borough police force said they received reports of a gathering at the Il Capriccio restaurant in Ewell High St and arrived there around 8.30pm on Saturday.

They found a number of people attempting to flee via the back entrance, and would eventually fine 10 attendees for breaching lockdown measures designed to slow the spread of coronavirus.

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Posted by Surrey Police on Monday, 1 March 2021

"Upon arrival, police stopped several people who were attempting to leave the restaurant via the back exit in a bid to evade officers.

"10 adults were issued with fines for attending a gathering, and the owner of the restaurant was fined £1000 and referred to trading and licensing standards," the borough police spokesperson said.

T/Inspector Jon Vale, Borough Commander for Epsom and Ewell, added his thoughts on the matter and urged residents to stay the course with the ongoing lockdown:

"We know that this remains a challenging time and that everyone is doing their best to adapt and follow the rules in place for everyone’s safety," he said.

"We appreciate that friends and family will want to come together for special occasions and we are grateful to the majority who are adhering to the restrictions and playing their part in keeping loved ones safe and therefore supporting our frontline health colleagues.

"Our well-established policing approach of engaging, educating and explaining remains the same.

"However, where there are exceptional cases, only as a last resort and where people show a blatant disregard for the rules, we will take enforcement action," Vale added.