Two police officers have been violently attacked after breaking up an illegal North West party.

Police were called to reports of a 'large' illegal gathering taking place at a home on Wigan Road, Bolton, despite the strict national lockdown in place.

As they arrived at the scene at around 4.40pm on Monday (February 22), officers found a large number of people from various households in breach of current Covid-19 restrictions.

However, police were "met with hostility" as they attempted to break up the party and issue fines, resulting in the violent attack of two officers.

One officer was grabbed and dragged to the floor.

As a second officer came to her colleague's assistance, she was burnt with a cigarette.

A 60-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of two counts of assault of an emergency worker. He has since been released under investigation.

A total of 12 fines were handed out so far to those in attendance. A closure notice was also issued for the premise.

Chief Inspector Stuart Maley-Jones, of GMP's Bolton division, said: "This was a blatant breach of COVID legislation and it's shocking that two of our officers have been assaulted whilst responding to this incident.

"This behaviour is completely unacceptable. Our officers are doing their very best to maintain public safety in the midst of a pandemic and should not have to be fearful of assault whilst carrying out their duties.

"I would like to remind the public of the importance of adhering to the regulations.

"We can now see a light at the end of the tunnel, but to reach that light we must do everything we can to reduce the number of virus transmissions and help keep our community safe and protected."

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