ONE DAY OUT OF LOCKDOWN, THESE ARE THE SCENES ON BRITAIN’S BEACHES
THERE were astonishing scenes yesterday as thousands of sunseekers packed Britain’s beaches on the hottest day of the year in disregard to the threat of coronavirus.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson had said he was trusting in the ‘common sense’ of people to overcome Covid-19, but little of that was on display at the seaside.
Social distancing was impossible as revellers packed the beach at Bournemouth, seemingly oblivious to the possibility of picking up the virus still in circulation. There was nothing the police could do even if they wanted to.
Temperatures in the south of the country peaked at 32.6C (90.7F) yesterday, but that figure is set to leap today with a high of up to 34C expected. No doubt some seaside resorts will again be full to bursting despite a strict two-metre rule still being in place.
With nine million workers in the UK currently furloughed and large numbers of children off school, the midweek heat prompted a weekend-style rush to beaches and parks.
The most shocking scenes of overcrowding were on England’s south coast. The road to Bournemouth was reportedly gridlocked in the middle of the day and huge crowds were seen queuing for fish and chips, ice cream and beer on the seafront.
Euan Kogan, 31, made a 320km round trip from London to spend the day at the beach. He said: ‘I work for Marks & Spencer but my store is closed. The sunshine is amazing, much better than being inside.’
Others were concerned about the lack of social distancing. Teacher Aaron Clegg, 37, said: ‘I am a bit on edge. It seems like a second wave is inevitable.’
Problems on the same scale were not seen in northern coastal areas where fewer day-trippers meant social distancing was being largely adhered to.