POLICE in Cumbria were incredibly busy over the bank holiday weekend as people from as far afield as London were caught trying to cross into Scotland.
While Boris Johnson did not lift lockdown restrictions for those living in England until Sunday night, it seems some people were willing to flout the official guidelines before that – as Cumbria Police have said they were called out more than 100 times from Friday to Sunday.
Until Johnson’s announcement, only “essential” travel was allowed by law. In Scotland those guidelines remain in place.
Even now that lockdown has been eased in England – people there are allowed to travel as far from their homes as they wish for exercise – the official UK Government guidance does not allow people to enter the devolved nations, where stricter restrictions are in place.
READ MORE: Lockdown: Family fined over trip from London to Motherwell
Assistant Chief Constable Andy Slattery said: “We had a busy weekend, obviously with the three-day bank holiday starting with the VE Day celebrations we had numerous calls to parties.
“It was a busy day Friday and this carried on into the rest of the weekend. A larger number of people than normal were breaching the lockdown regulations.”
“A lot of people had pretty scurrilous reasons for travelling,” he added.
“Many admitted they shouldn’t be out but thought they would chance it anyhow.
“This weekend we ended up issuing more than 100 fixed penalty fines.
We actually issued more fines this weekend than we have in the entire lockdown period."
He added: “It’s been challenging, but the vast majority of the public has been really co-operative with our officers.
“There has been a small minority of people who have been difficult and abusive and these are the sort of people that will continue to be difficult and abusive. We are doing a public service.
READ MORE: The Independent recommends Highland walks despite lockdown
“It’s not to restrict people’s freedom, it’s to protect lives.”
On Saturday we reported that the Cumbria force had fined a family of four for attempting to travel from London to Motherwell for a three-day break.
And since Johnson’s restrictions were eased, we have brought you stories of newspapers recommending walks in rural Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
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