Ashby Women Fined For Foremark Visit Set To Have Their Cases Reviewed By Derbyshire Police

By Graham Hill

9th Jan 2021 | Local News

Derbyshire Police say they will be reviewing all of the fines issued during the latest lockdown period to people driving from their homes to take exercise.

It means the two Ashby women who made national headlines for their visit to Foremark Reservoir will be contacted.

Ashby women fined £200 for driving to Foremark and drinking coffee

Jessica Allen and Eliza Moore were hit with £200 penalties for their five mile trip to the South Derbyshire atttraction and told their takeaway coffees were considered 'a picnic'.

Now Derbyshire Police say they have received new guidance from the National Police Chiefs' Council.

In a statement issued yesterday evening (Friday), they said: "All fixed penalty notices during this relevant period that have been issued will be reviewed for compliance. All recipients will be contacted."

Derbyshire Police's patrols at Calke Abbey, where visitors to the National Trust property were also being fined, were highlighted earlier this week.

Police fine non-local visitors to Calke

The Derbyshire Police statement continued: "Since the new national lockdown restrictions came into place the force has been working to implement the legislation that details the reasons why people may leave their homes, including to take exercise and travel.

However, today we have received further guidance from the NPCC which has clarified the policing response concerning travel and exercise which states:

"UK Government guidance strongly requests that people do not leave their local area. However, the Covid Regulations which officers enforce and which enables them to issue FPNs for breaches, do not restrict the distance travelled for exercise.

"Police officers will be inquisitive about why people are out of their homes and will explain the regulations and encourage people to comply. Where people are breaching the regulations and are away from home without a reasonable excuse, they may be issued with a FPN. In situations where people are breaching the guidance not to travel out their local area but are not breaching regulations, officers will encourage people to follow the guidance.

"We all have a responsibility to follow both the regulations and the guidance in place to protect the NHS and save lives. As throughout the pandemic, we'll engage proportionately, fairly, and using the well-established 4Es approach. We are confident that the majority of people will act responsibly, respecting the rules and guidance, and playing their part to keep communities safe. Those who do not follow the regulations in place to limit the spread of the virus should expect to receive a fixed penalty notice."

Derbyshire Constabulary will now be aligning to adhere to this stance.

Assistant Chief Constable Kem Mehmet said: "Since the start of the pandemic Derbyshire Constabulary have been working to understand the ever-changing guidance and legislation and to communicate this to our officers in a way that makes it clear what is the right course of action to take.

"We are grateful for the guidance from the NPCC and our officers will continue to use the 4Es approach and will of course encourage people to follow the guidance and where appropriate deal with breaches of the regulations.

"The actions of our officers continues to be to protect the public, the NHS and to help save lives."

     

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