Boy racers flouted lockdown rules during a huge car meet in London last night that caused queues of traffic.
Footage showed hundreds of people ignoring social distancing rules as they watched the meet outside the Showcase cinema, near the A13 in Barking, east London.
The rally came just hours after a similar event in Manchester which witnesses compared to ‘bonfire night’ and a Formula 1 race due to the popping of cars.
Footage shows a queue of cars at the roundabout outside the car park in Barking, east London, and people gathering and watching on the paths
People stood on the roundabout outside the car park to watch the cars during the meet
The clip shows a long queue of cars to get into the car park and groups of people gathering and watching at the edges of the road.
Vehicles revving their engines can be heard in the background while other cars are seen parked up on the pavement leading up to the roundabout. People can also be seen riding quad bikes around the roundabout.
The government’s current coronavirus guidelines state that no more than 30 people should gather for community activities and events such as weddings and funerals.
There was another event in Barking at the beginning of this month when hundreds of drivers gathered in car parks.
A black car goes around the roundabout and can be seen with smoke coming off its back wheel as people stand by taking pictures and videos on their phones
People line the pavements and watch cars doing burnouts and drifting around the roundabout in Barking
Hundreds of people stand around the roundabout during the meet, ignoring social distancing rules
The car park of the Showcase cinema on the outskirts of Barking is full of cars and people during the meet
Drivers travelled in convoy to five different locations to admire each other’s customised motors.
It came after an illegal car rally took place in Tameside, Greater Manchester, on Sunday which caused traffic jams on nearby motorways.
Police were called to an industrial estate in the town of Denton after hundreds of people brought their cars to the location just outside the M60 motorway.
Alarming footage from the Sunday event shows large rows of cars being lined up near the industrial estate, with several members of the public not wearing face masks nor conforming to any sort of social distancing.
The surrounding area was full of people standing close together as they attended the car meet
An illegal car meet took place at an industrial estate in Denton, Greater Manchester, with emergency services called to break up the event
Hundreds of motorists attended the event in Tameside, which clearly abused social distancing advice put forward by the government
The event gained a lot of attention on social media, including complaints from members of the public and the local MP for Denton
Witnesses compared the event to ‘bonfire night’ and a Formula 1 race due to the popping of cars and Greater Manchester Police from the Tameside & South West force were called to the scene.
A police helicopter was also needed as emergency services became concerned with the large meet.
A statement from Greater Manchester Police said: ‘Officers are currently dealing with an incident at Tameside Business Centre, Windmill Lane in Denton where there is an increased activity in vehicular traffic.
Can we please ask that you avoid this and the surrounding area. Sadly this is putting a massive strain on our services at this time and it is causing a back log of traffic, however we hope we can quickly have things resolved with your help.’
A resident living near the industrial estate said: ‘The whole of Denton is gridlocked. It sounds like bonfire night with the cars popping.’
Denton MP Andrew Gwynne displayed his disapproval for the car meet, tweeting: ‘Completely irresponsible and I’m informed the Police are on it. In fact as I type, the Police helicopter is overhead.’
The car rally caused long traffic jams on the M60 motorway while the M66 and M66 routes were also affected by the illegal event.
Those who attended the event did not conform to social distancing and many chose not to wear face masks despite coronavirus fears
Cars line up at the industrial estate as the illegal car rally grew alarmingly in terms of numbers. It was compared to bonfire night and a Formula One race due to the popping of cars
There were also reports on social media of dangerous driving around the Denton area, including drivers speeding up and down the hard shoulder of the M60.
North West Motorway Police assured members of the public that patrols had been put in place in the relevant areas.
‘M60, junction 24 both anticlockwise and clockwise we have heavy congestion – this is due to an apparent car meet off the motorway network.
The car meet caused several traffic jams at junction 24 of the M60 while the M66 and M67 were also affected by the illegal meet-up
‘It is however impacting around M60, M67, M66 – we are getting numerous re vehicles using the hard shoulder at speed, please take care.’
North West Motorway Police then confirmed that the traffic had eased just before 6pm.
Car enthusiasts from across the country took part in an all-day ‘cruise’ on earlier this month which began at 10am in Barking before motoring up the M25 to meet at a spot near Junction 30 and arriving at several locations in Harlow, Essex.
The meeting then returned to Barking where pictures showed over two hundred revellers ignoring social distancing and flouting the government’s limit of 30 people per gathering.
Several police cars and two ambulances attended the gathering in Barking where noise complaints were made after cars sped their way through the McDonald’s drive-through.
The Metropolitan Police have been contacted for comment.