Blackpool is off the rails for sunseekers after bug spike
RAIL chiefs have begged visitors not to flock to the golden sands of virus-hit Blackpool.
Sizzling 26C temperatures had seen huge numbers of sun-seekers and families travelling to the Lancashire resort with one of the highest infection rates in England.
But it created social-distancing chaos as thousands packed into Northern rail’s trains with 85 per cent reduced capacity.
Now the firm has joined Blackpool council in saying it is still too soon for lockdown-easing Britons to head to the seaside.
Chris Jackson, regional director for Northern, said: “Destinations will still be there to be enjoyed when the country recovers from coronavirus,
“The space we have on our trains should be left for those who need to make vital journeys.”Last week Blackpool had one of the UK’s worst Covid-19 rates with 445.8 people of every 100,000 having it. Nationally, that figure was 269.6.
Public Health England shows 643 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the the town, out of a population of 139,446.
This weekend a petition with more than 15,000 signatures is calling for Blackpool to close to visitors for four weeks to recover from the virus.
Resident Brian Perry set up the campaign after seeing the resort “invaded by people” on recent sunny days.
But council leader Simon Blackburn said a local lockdown or closing the beach was impossible.