Pals sharing curry, ‘just chillin’ in car or playing darts - some of the ways lives are being put at risk

POLICE REVEAL HOW COVID-19 RULES HAVE BEEN BREACHED IN COUNTY THIS MONTH

POLICE have detailed where, when and why officers have dished out fines for lockdown breaches in January – and the often fanciful explanations rule-breakers offered up.

The force confirmed its officers had issued 361 fines, totalling £72,200, since the latest lockdown came into force at the beginning of the month.

It also gave details of 13 of those cases, including the group who met up to share a curry, while another set of friends gathered to sit in their car to watch a football match on a phone.

Meanwhile, three friends found sitting in a car were frank enough to tell officers they were “just chillin’.’

Officers also encountered a number of people who had driven to the city or county from different parts of the country.

The 361 breaches dealt with by police so far this month include:

On January 10, a man was travelling from Nottingham to Leicester to see a friend – they stated they were not aware they could not travel.

On January 13, a man from Swepstone Road, Heather, who should have been isolating having tested positive for Covid, was picked up by his girlfriend and went to get a takeaway.

On January 13, three people not from the same household were found in a car “just chillin” in Loughborough. Fines were issued.

On January 15, a man had driven from Birmingham to see an uncle and friends, with two other passengers not from the same household.

On January 15, officers attended an address in Leicester with six people “extremely intoxicated”, not from the same household.

On January 15, a vehicle was stopped in Glenfield. The occupants had travelled there from London. It was discovered one passenger was wanted on another matter and was therefore arrested.

On January 16, men travelled from London to Leicester with no reasonable excuse to stay overnight with a friend.

On January 16, officers attended an address to find a number of people, with a bonfire on the go, playing darts. One man was “aggressive and swore at officers”. Fines were given.

On January 16, a driver and three friends from different households travelled from Coventry to Leicester – unable to give an excuse, so all were fined.

On January 16, there was a party at an address in Cambridge Street, Leicester.

On January 17, a private address in Narborough was hosting a birthday party – six people in attendance. Four were fined and two men ran from police out of the back of the property.

On January 17, two men, not from the same household, were found in the same car in Oadby. They had met to watch a football match together on their phone. They were given fixed-penalty notices.

On January 17, officers attended an address in Leicester to find the owner had invited his friends around for a curry. They stated they were aware of the rules but came around anyway. They were all fined.

As well as the fines issued during January, police said they had received 1,246 reports of Covid-related incidents, and recorded 22 assaults on its officers.

The latest round of fines took the total number issued by the force since March 23, 2020 to 1,298 – meaning nearly a third of all fines issued since the start of the pandemic were in the past three weeks alone. As well as the fines, the force has received a total of 20,996 reports of Covid incidents. This averages out to 488 reports a week.

The force also revealed it has issued 15 of the most severe £10,000 fines since lockdown was imposed.

Assistant Chief Constable Kerry Smith said: “We are all doing this together and our officers are supporting the NHS effort as best we can.

“We are really grateful for all of those people who are staying in and not taking risks. By doing this you are enabling us to do our job tackling crime and supporting victims.

“We have certainly seen an increase in reports to us of Covid rule breaches and therefore as a result we are handing out more fixedpenalty notices.

“We share the public’s frustration that the small minority are still taking terrible risks but we continue to police to keep people safe.”