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Wales Online
Wales Online
Politics
Will Hayward

First Minister says he will stop lifting lockdown if mass gatherings continue

The First Minister has said he will stop easing lockdown restrictions if there continues to be incidents like those seen in Ogmore-by-Sea on Thursday.

Hundreds of young people descended on the Welsh beach which then descended into violent clashes.

The current lockdown guidance restricts non-essential travel to five miles and even then people must observe social distancing of tw-metres.

Mass gatherings are also banned in Wales and you must only meet outdoors with one other household.

Writing on Twitter, First Minister Mark Drakeford said: "We will not be able to continue easing restrictions if scenes like last night continue to happen.

"They threaten the health of people in Wales and undermine the sacrifices the majority of people have made during this ongoing crisis."

You can follow all the live updates on the incident here.

On Monday non-essential retail was allowed to reopen with changes to schools and travel planned for the next two weeks.

However Mr Drakeford has said that lifting the restrictions  may not continue at the planned pace if these sort of incidents continue.

South Wales Police tweeted a plea to parents to "check where your children are" after reports of "large numbers of young people" gathered on the coast.

They said two men in their 20s have been arrested and one person was injured.

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