MARAUDING youths were ordered to disperse from a Halloween party just hours after the Prime Minister announced a second national lockdown.

Officers were sent to Norwich Drive in Bevendean for the second night in a row.

Video footage shows dozens of screaming and swearing teens in the area, with residents saying they felt threatened.

One said: “There have been large gatherings of students in the past two nights at Norwich Drive. There were way over 100 of them, and police were moving them on.

The Argus:

The scene in Norwich Drive, Bevendean

“But they carried on in a big gathering, walking down the road, swearing, even threatening my girlfriend and I as we drove down The Avenue. It’s not on.”

Video footage shows teenagers in the streets

Another resident said there were as many as 200 youths, who scattered and ran into nearby fields when police arrived in the early hours of the morning.

Meanwhile, dozens of police were also called to attend the University of Sussex campus at Falmer where students were holding parties.

It follows warnings to the public that gatherings would be dispersed.

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Sussex Police advice was for people to observe pre-lockdown rules not to have gatherings of more than six people, and instead to hold celebrations at home with families.

The Argus:

Sussex Police issued warnings

New strict lockdown rules are expected to come into force on Thursday which will ban people visiting each other at home, or meeting more than one person outside for exercise.

The Argus:

Scenes at the University of Sussex

But the Halloween hell in Bevendean came just hours after Boris Johnson told the country about the importance of social distancing to save lives this winter.

Video shows the large police presence at the University of Sussex

The Prime Minister said if no action was taken to stop the spread of the virus, the NHS could be “overrun” and added: “For the first time in our lives, the NHS might not be there.”

Police say they were called to the University of Sussex campus at 11pm on Saturday and issued a section 34 dispersal order. They later had to disperse students found in Stanmer Park with a generator and a sound system. Organisers of the apparent illegal rave face a £10,000 fine.

Meanwhile officers handed out a £10,000 fine to the organiser of a Halloween party in Norwich Drive, Brighton.

You can read more on that story here: Brighton Halloween party host fined £10k for coronavirus rules breach