Police axe £200 fine for women in reservoir walk
POLICE last night apologised and scrapped £200 fines handed to two women for driving five miles to go for a walk at a beauty spot during lockdown. Jessica Allen and Eliza Moore, both 27, were fined for making a tenminute journey to Foremark Reservoir in Derbyshire last week after police claimed they could have taken exercise closer to home. They said officers also accused them of having a picnic – because they were drinking takeaway peppermint tea. Derbyshire Chief Constable Rachel Swann last night said the penalty notices had been withdrawn and the women had received an apology. She added: ‘I support the fact that the officers were trying to encourage people to stay local to prevent the spread of the virus.’ She stressed: ‘We have been working hard to understand the ever-changing guidance and legislation and to communicate this to our officers in a way that makes it clear what is the right course of action to take.’ Beautician Miss Allen, from Ashby- de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, said both she and Miss Moore welcomed the apology. The pair were stunned when officers swooped as they strolled by the reservoir. Miss Allen initially thought ‘someone had been murdered or a child had gone missing.’ West Yorkshire Police Federation chairman Brian Booth yesterday claimed officers had been left in an impossible situation by ‘woolly laws’. He insisted: ‘Walking a tightrope between maintaining public confidence and upholding the law is not made easy with poor guidance. Police officers are being made scapegoats for poor policy and law-writing. Make it clear to the public, for example, if it is desired that exercise be limited to local – then clearly state in law what local is. Do not insert it into guidance that has no legal standing.’ Health Secretary Matt Hancock last night praised the police for their efforts in enforcing the rules.
Following calls from police for clarification, a No10 spokesman said Britons were permitted to meet one other person for exercise but not socialising, adding: ‘Going for a walk, obviously, does count as exercise.’
Meanwhile, police in Devon and Cornwall are using car number plate recognition technology to ensure only essential journeys are made following reports of hundreds of travel breaches at the weekend – many related to second homes in the area.
Elsewhere, police were filmed smashing through the back door of a pub in Walsall, West Midlands, with a battering ram after receiving reports it was serving alcohol to a group of men.