A GROUP of day-trippers from Coventry who drove 170 miles to Durdle Door on the Dorset coast for exercise have been fined for breaching Covid-19 rules.
On Saturday morning (January 9) officers from Dorset Police were on patrol when they discovered the occupants of two cars had driven down from Coventry to the scenic Lulworth Estate, home to Lulworth Castle and Durdle Door – one of the world’s most famous rock arches on the Jurassic Coast.
A statement from Dorset Police said: “During the morning of Saturday 9 January 2021 officers carried out proactive patrols throughout the county, including at the Lulworth Estate.
“Officers engaged with a group of people who had travelled to Durdle Door from Coventry. Two people were issued with fixed penalty notices for breaching Covid-19 regulations. Travelling over 170 miles for exercise is completely unacceptable.
“The Government is calling for people to stay at home and only leave for a limited number of reasons, this includes for exercise. However, they are asking people to do this in their local area. As per the Government guidance, ‘stay local’ means stay in the village, town or part of the city where you live. You can read the full guidance here: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
“Our officers, including our dedicated Covid-19 patrol officers, will continue to use a 4 Es approach of escalation, where they will engage, explain and encourage people to follow the regulations. Where this is not effective, then enforcement action will be taken when reasonable, proportionate and in line with Covid-19 regulations.
“Positive cases are rising at an unpresented scale nationally and tragically over 80,000 people have died from the virus. More than 1,000 people were dying a day last week. The situation is dire both nationally and in Dorset. Our NHS colleagues are struggling to cope with the demand being placed upon them and are putting themselves at risk every day to protect the lives of others. The number of people in Dorset’s hospitals battling coronavirus has doubled since New Year’s Eve and it is anticipated we have not yet reached the peak.
“We all have a social responsibility to stick within the rules and we would ask that people behave responsibly to save lives and protect the NHS.
A tweet published by the Lulworth Estate with an image of the group, said: “Please abide by lockdown rules. The police had to issue fines this weekend to two carloads of people who had driven down from Coventry. #staylocal #protecttheNHS”
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