THE EASTER CRACKDOWN
Police to turn back and fine drivers going for a sunshine weekend break
PoLICe yesterday vowed to turn back anyone caught heading off for an easter break – and warned sunseekers flouting the rules: ‘Your time is up.’
Forces were preparing a bank holiday weekend crackdown amid fears the sunny forecast could send Britons flocking to beaches and beauty spots.
Patrols on major routes to coastal areas and national parks will be stepped up across england and Wales. Drivers could be quizzed at service stations about why they are travelling.
A Mail audit yesterday found forces including Devon and Cornwall, Avon and Somerset, Dorset, Merseyside and a number in Wales will be boosting their number of road policing officers.
New regulations allow them to fine drivers caught away from their home without a good reason £60 – rising to £960 if they don’t pay. Holidaymakers on the trains will also be stopped and asked if their trip is essential.
Britain is set to bask in its warmest weather of the year so far this weekend, with temperatures hotter than Rome. They are expected to reach 24C (75F) in the South today and 21C (70F) in the North.
Last night, Dominic Raab urged Britons to ‘please stay home’. The Foreign Secretary, deputising for Boris Johnson, acknowledged the lockdown rules were ‘tough going’ for millions but insisted: ‘We’re not done yet.’
He told the daily No.10 press conference the measures were working to slow the spread of the virus but it was too early to lift them.
‘Let’s not waste the sacrifices so many people have made,’ he said. ‘We mustn’t give the coronavirus a second chance to kill more people and hurt our country.’ A formal decision on whether to continue the lockdown for three more weeks will be taken next week. But a Government source said: ‘ We have effectively taken the decision to extend it.’
A row over the policing of the lockdown has raged since it was imposed, with some forces accused of overreacting.
Tourism bosses have urged holidaymakers to stay at home, but local residents have complained of visitors flocking to second homes. Cornwall Council said it had received around 200 reports of properties still open to visitors from outside the area. Assistant
Chief Constable Glen Mayhew of Devon and Cornwall Police said: ‘If we stop vehicles and they are travelling to a second home we will ask them to return to their primary residence.’
Gloucestershire Constabulary vowed to fine anyone going to a holiday home on a day trip with a picnic. Yesterday two men heading to Windermere in the Lake District with a canoe on the roof rack of their car were stopped and escorted back to the motorway.
Forces in Cambridgeshire, London and Kent have now brought in online forms for the public to report anyone flouting the rules.
Police announced an ‘enhanced deployment of officers patrolling stations across the rail network, adding: ‘Wherever they are on the railway network, passengers can expect they’ll be asked about their reasons for travel.’
Kent Chief Constable Alan Pughsley said: ‘Those who have received fines for refusing to comply need to take a look at themselves in the mirror and consider the potential health implications their actions could have on others.’
Chief Constable Ian Hopkins revealed there had been 1,132 virus-related breaches reported in Greater Manchester between Saturday and Tuesday, including 660 parties – some with fireworks, DJs, and bouncy castles.
Some chief constables want the legislation to be tightened to give them more powers to break up private gatherings, which are not covered by the law.
Latest coronavirus video news, views and expert advice at mailplus.co.uk/coronavirus