Young man who held a 'street party' in Sydney's northern beaches is slapped with a $1,000 fine - but he insists he wasn't breaking lockdown because it was a 'marketing strategy' as locked-down parents thank him for 'spreading a bit of joy'

A man who was fined for breaching Covid-19 restrictions and hosting a street party in Sydney has denied he did anything wrong and that it was a 'marketing strategy'.  

NSW Deputy Police Commissioner Gary Worboys said the young man had hosted a pop-up party from his van at Manly, in Sydney's northern beaches, on Thursday.

Officers were tipped off to the party by the public before they intervened and ordered it be shut down.

The man, whose name has since been revealed to be Andrew Riis, runs a business called, 'Hello, Stranger'. 

Commissioner Worboys said he denied to officers he was breaching Covid-19 restrictions.

NSW Deputy police commissioner Gary Worboys said the young man had hosted a pop-up party from his van at Manly, in Sydney's northern beaches, on Thursday

Officers were tipped off to the party by the public before they intervened and ordered it to be shut down

'When spoken to, the young man tried to convince officers it was some sort of marketing strategy or exercise strategy when clearly, clearly, it wasn't,' he said.

'The people who contacted police described it as a party in the street.'

Officers issued a $1,000 infringement notice and warned the host not to hold any more similar events.

Footage of the party was uploaded to social media and shows two men standing on top of a van with a bubble machine and loud speaker playing music.

Children are seen dancing and skipping while one parent happily claps along.

Social media users have been quick to swoop in and praise the man for spreading some joy in the community.  

'No different to exercise,' one person wrote. 'Not hurting anyone. Let's be kind to one another'.

Another person wrote a tongue-in-cheek comment: 'People smiling and having fun, definitely against the rules!' 

Mr Riis has taken to Facebook to reiterate he did not believe he was breaking any restrictions.

Officers issued a $1,000 infringement notice and warned the host not to hold any more, similar events

The man, whose name has since been revealed to be Andrew Riis, runs a business called, 'Hello, Stranger'

'This is my van and my project,' he wrote. 'Can confirm this is my job and is not breaking any Covid policy.

'It's also not a protest nor any form of political statement. And to the lady who thought my shirt was a message about vaccines, it literally says "no worries".' 

He has also shared a series of videos on his Instagram page to defend his actions. 

Commissioner Worboys said the man was just one of 164 people caught breaching Covid-19 restrictions in the last 24 hours. 

'Over 200 warnings and advice were given to people about breaching the public health orders or getting close to breaching public health orders,' he said.