Surfers from London caught on Devon beach

SURFERS in a campervan travelled from London to North Devon to catch some waves during the third national lockdown.

Defying the ‘stay at home’ orders issued by the Government, the vanload of rule-breakers travelled hundreds of miles across the country to Woolacombe and Saunton on Devon’s Atlantic Coast.

It comes as people are dying in their thousands from the Covid-19 coronavirus – with one hospital in the South West, Swindon in Wiltshire, declaring a critical incident after a surge in Covid patients.

Furious police say the incident “beggars belief” and issued fines and sent the selfish surfers packing.

On Twitter, North and West Devon Police Commander Toby Davies said: “Beggar’s belief, despite all the messaging – a campervan load travelled down from London last night as they fancied a surf.

“Tickets given and turned back! Vast majority are following the guidance – to the minority blatantly breaching, we are out and about. Please stay home, save lives.”

Photographs shared by Cmdr Davies show dozens of surfers in the sea off the North Devon coast.

Earlier this week, Devon and Cornwall Police officers in South Devon stopped a car that had travelled almost 200 miles, from Wolverhampton to Brixham. After writing out Covid fines for both, they realised they could smell alcohol on the breath of the driver, who now faces disqualification.

Devon and Cornwall’s chief constable has asked people to act within the spirit of the law regarding the latest Covid-19 regulations, rather than try to push the rules to the limit and put lives at risk and take up valuable police time.