Large crowds gathered to party on the streets of Liverpool last night as pubs closed for the final time before lockdown rules came into force.
People flooded into the area around Concert Square to sing and dance as bars and pubs shut at 10pm, the Liverpool Echo reports.
From today (Wednesday), tier 3 lockdown rules have been imposed in Liverpool, meaning licenced venues that do not sell substantial meals with drinks must close.
Footage showed a rowdy group shouting and hitting a police car as it tried to move through the packed crowd last night.
A drink was then thrown in the direction of the patrol vehicle as people in the group began chanting and jumping up and down.
The person who took the footage told the ECHO that it was "one of the most horrible sights (they had) witnessed".
The witness, who asked to remain anonymous, said: "A large group of young partygoers who were defying every single social distancing rule imaginable attacked a police car on Concert Square.
"This event had a particularly big impact on me because it made clear that this second lockdown that Liverpool will find itself in from tomorrow will have the potential to unleash a very dangerous wave of riots and uprising of people that don’t believe in coronavirus restrictions. This video might just be the start."
In other footage, people were filmed hugging each other and jumping around as police officers moved them on from the area.
Another video of the crowds, posted to the Snapchat Map was captioned “Herd immunity here we come”.
Liverpool was put on the 'very high' alert level under the new three-tiered system of local lockdown measures.
It means pubs, bars, gyms, betting shops, casinos and adult gaming centres must shut from today.
Travel outside the area will be advised against, while there are tough new restrictions on mixing between households.
