Police have revealed some of the ‘clear and blatant’ breaches of Covid rules which have resulted in officers dishing out fines.
Essex Police says the majority of people in the county have been doing the right thing by staying indoors and following lockdown rules.
But the force says it has been left with little choice but to take action against a handful of people who have defied the rules.
These include:
- A woman from Braintree who was fined £200 for failing to self-isolate despite testing positive for Covid-19.
She had left her home at least twice despite being required to serve a 10-day isolation period by law.
- Officers from the Chelmsford Town Centre Team handed out fines to four people from different households who travelled together from Maldon to Chelmsford for a takeaway on the evening of Saturday, January 16.
- Quadbikes were seized in Tiptree following reports of nuisance riding in woods on January 16.
- Officers in Epping stopped two people who had travelled from Grays to High Beech car park on Tuesday, January 12.
The pair – one adult and one child – told officers they made the 25-mile journey to the beauty spot to go for a jog. The adult was served with a fine.
- Four performance cars were stopped on the A414 at junction 7 of the M11 on December 21 – when the county was under Tier 4 restrictions and put into an effective lockdown.
Officers found out the vehicles had travelled from the London and Hertfordshire areas for a car cruise.
Eight people were dealt with for breaches of coronavirus legislation and each driver was also issued a warning for antisocial and inconsiderate driving.
A spokesman for Essex Police said: “We would like to thank the public of Essex for doing the right thing in continuing to stay at home and protect the NHS.
“We continue to take a common-sense approach to policing the Government guidelines, by first engaging with people, before explaining the situation and encouraging them to do the right thing.
“However, when there are clear and blatant breaches we will pursue enforcement.”
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