Youths in Liverpool are thought to have used bolt cutters to break into a sports centre – for a game of football.
The youngsters hacked their way into the Everton Park facility, which is currently closed because of coronavirus restrictions, for a kick-about on the site’s open air pitches.
When police arrived to break up the game, they found the whole thing was so organised that one side was even wearing fluorescent bibs.
Several spectators had turned up to watch the match.
Although officers said they “spoke to” some players after being called to the incident on Saturday morning, most were said to have already left the scene. No arrests were made or fines dished out.
Inspector Paula Oldham, of Merseyside Police, said: “We are aware of potential Covid breaches at this location at weekends and officers are working alongside Liverpool Council to address this issue, with additional police patrols in the area.
“We will continue to respond to reports of breaches of current legislation, and proactively patrol to ensure members of the public are adhering to restrictions.”
A spokesperson for Liverpool City Council, which runs the closed facility, said it was now looking at increasing security measures “due to issues with people cutting locks and forcibly removing fence panels at the pitches in order to play football in breach of lockdown rules”.
The incident was not the only illegal kick-around had this weekend.
Fines were handed out by Leicestershire Police to 15 boys playing football in the village of Fenny Drayton
In a post on its Facebook page, the force’s Market Bosworth neighbourhood team said: “It’s fair to say that none of us on the team joined this organisation to stop lads playing football. But for the time being - these are the rules and this is the law."
