£1k Covid fineNews for town barber after police raid

FOUR PEOPLE WERE IN SHOP FOR A TRIM

whether they have been charged in connection with the incident.

Police shared brief details of the bust to followers of the team’s official Twitter account. “Reports by resident of drug dealing in Birtstall,” they wrote. “The team respond by executing a search warrant.

“Drugs and other property recovered. One arrested.”

No details were given of the road, or area of the village, where the property was located.

An image of the illicit drugs pictured in a sealed evidence bag suggests, however, that it was cannabis. The evidence bag can also be seen to contain a mobile phone.

A BARBER has been fined for breaching Covid regulations along with customers caught getting illegal haircuts.

Police and council officials went to Turkish Hairlines, in Coalville, on Saturday and found four customers in there for a trim.

Barbers are not yet legally allowed to open with that restriction not due to be lifted until April 12.

Each of the customers was given a Covid-19 breach fixed penalty notice and the owner of the Ashby Road business has been fined £1,000.

North West Leicestershire District Council leader Richard Blunt said: “The rules are very clear, but this business owner chose to ignore them.

“They are now paying the price for the disregard shown for the health and welfare of their customers and the local community.

“Thankfully, cases like this have been rare and the vast majority of businesses in our district continue to show incredible resolve during very difficult times – thank you to each and every one.”

The operation was carried out as North West Leicestershire continues to have one of the highest Covid-19 infection rates in the country.

Public health officials have said the stubbornly high infection levels are linked to the high volume of people coming into and out of the district to work in its large distribution and warehousing complexes.

However, they also warned that Ashby and other villages had become infection “hotspots” and urged people to strictly abide by public health advice to try to break the chain of transmission.