Overview
- A fight broke out during the Bank Holiday heatwave on Monday at Parliament Hill Lido, prompting staff to close the site and call police.
- Officers arrested two people, reported as aged 17 and 25, on suspicion of affray and paramedics treated a 15-year-old and a man in his 40s for minor injuries.
- The City of London Corporation described the behaviour as unacceptable and said it will only reopen the lido when it is deemed safe, with reopening expected on May 27 pending checks.
- Eyewitnesses and social media reported claims of a vodka-bottle strike and the presence of knives but those accounts have not been independently verified by police.
- The incident has renewed questions about on-site security and crowd control at the long-standing Hampstead Heath lido after past scuffles in 2018 and 2019, and police have asked witnesses to contact 101 or Crimestoppers quoting CAD5578/25MAY.