Covid-risk crabbers face bridge ban by shell-shocked residents
RESIDENTS at Britain’s best known crabbing hotspot fear that increased visitor numbers could help to spread Covid-19 if they fail to social distance.
Locals in Walberswick, Suffolk, called for staycationers to be banned from a bridge where the British Crabbing Championships were once held. They say the visitors are cramming on to the crossing, which is only 2ft wide, and they are failing to distance.
Some claim they have been met with aggressive responses from day-trippers and have alerted the police, who have already visited the spot.
Now signs have been posted on the wooden footbridge over the River Blyth saying crabbing is banned.
Luke Jeans, who lives near the bridge, said he faced “aggression and yelling”, as well as threats of physical violence, after he asked visitors not to block the bridge. He said: “The first time I got aggression on there, one gentleman refused to leave and stood in the middle of the bridge with his arms folded. Another time it was aggression and yelling.”
Another local, Robin Duncombe, 72, the former vice-president of the British Crabbing Federation, said it was a “shame” that visitors behaved this way. He said: “Under normal circumstances, it is an inconvenience, not a major problem. But with Covid-19, social distancing on that bridge is impossible.
Suffolk Constabulary said an officer visited the area this week and reported no issues, adding that police had no powers to enforce social distancing and were only able to break up gatherings of more than 30 people.
The British Crabbing Championships were held at Walberswick for 30 years but were closed down in 2011 after the event became too popular.