Australia threatens to deport British backpackers after Sydney beach party broke Covid rules

Crowds could be seen enjoying the festivities 

Australia’s Department of Home Affairs is working with state officials in New South Wales to enforce coronavirus restrictions and identify non-citizens and non-permanent residents breaching the rules.

Hundreds of backpackers were seen drinking, dancing and singing in the park next to Bronte Beach, which neighbours the famous Bondi Beach in east Sydney, with barely a mask between them.

“You could hear lots of clearly English accents, and several people were wearing the white English football jerseys,” Peter Hannam, a local journalist, told the BBC.

New South Wales is trying to suppress a Covid-19 outbreak in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, which has now grown to a cluster of 129 cases.

Police have issued fines to other lockdown rule breakers. A bride and groom are believed to be among a group of people issued with a A$1,000 (£560) fine for leaving the Northern Beaches lockdown area to attend their wedding near Sydney’s central business district.

Twelve people have been issued with the fines for attending the wedding on Sunday.