A police force is to review its lockdown fines after being criticised by two women who "thought someone had been murdered" due to the "heavy-handed" response to what they thought was a legal walk.
Jessica Allen told Sky News she and her friend Eliza Moore travelled in separate cars to make the five-mile journey from their home town in Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire, to Foremark Reservoir, just across the county border in Derbyshire, on Wednesday.
The 27-year-old said that, aware of the COVID-19 lockdown, they believed they were doing the right thing by travelling to the "quiet" nature reserve rather than choosing a location closer to home, but busier.
In the car park, they were approached by police who told them they had "broken the guidelines" and fined £200 each. Hot drinks they were carrying were "classed as a picnic", she said the officers also told them.
Derbyshire Police has now said it will be reviewing fixed penalty notices issued during the latest lockdown. It is not the first time the force has faced criticism for its approach to lockdown fines, after using drones to film walkers in the Peak District in March.
Speaking about her experience, Ms Allen told Sky News: "Instead of walking through a busy town, [we thought] why not go to Foremark? It's about five miles from my house and it's so secluded and tranquil."
It was "freezing", she says, so they both separately picked up hot takeaway drinks for the walk.
"When we pulled into the car park, we were greeted by a police van and a police car with several police men and women all stood around the vehicles.
"Straight away, I thought something really serious had happened… I thought there's been a severe accident, someone has gone missing, has someone been murdered?
"I go to get out the car thinking there's no way that they're going to be coming over to speak to us. We've done nothing wrong. I get out of the car and straight away the police started questioning as to why we were there."
Under the latest lockdown guidance, exercise outdoors is permitted with one person from a different household, but people are told not to travel "outside your local area".
Ms Allen said when they told officers they had come from Leicestershire, they were told they had broken the rules.
"We were literally two villages away from home," she says she told the officers.
"I said, 'I'm really sorry, but I didn't know that was the case. And look, we've come in separate cars and even parked spaces away. We've even bought our drinks separately.' [They said] 'You can't do that, that's classed as a picnic'."
Ms Allen's brother is a doctor who has been working on COVID-19 wards and both her parents were ill with the virus before Christmas.
"We really take these guidelines seriously," she said. "I just couldn't believe it… we left feeling stunned."
Ms Allen, whose beauty business, Fluffy by Jessica May, has been closed for eight months since the first lockdown, said she feels there are grey areas in the rules and wanted to share her story so others are aware.
"Two hundred pounds is a lot of money," she said. "I'm not working at the moment. There's a lot of people who haven't got any money coming in.
"And a lot of people have contacted me to say the one thing they have to look forward to is going on a walk."
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For locations close to county borders, it is not always easy to know the rules, she said.
"The boundary of Derbyshire is on the road we live on. If I go out of my house to the right, I'm actually in Derbyshire," she said. "If I turn left, I'm in Leicestershire."
Ms Allen continued: "I'm a law-abiding citizen, I didn't go out looking for an argument and I didn't go looking to break the law. And that's what's really upsetting, because we'd gone out for a chat. There were no questions asked about mental health. We were just treated as criminals.
"I have respect for the police. I feel like they're getting a really hard time with [the pandemic]. Those police officers were doing their job. But I just feel like everyone needs to be singing from the same hymn sheet."
Now that Derbyshire Police have said they will be reviewing fines, Ms Allen is hoping theirs may be rescinded.
The force has said all fixed penalty notices issued to people breaking the rules during the third national lockdown will be reviewed after it received clarification about the coronavirus regulations.
In a statement on Friday, Derbyshire Police said it had received further guidance from the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) which had clarified that the "COVID regulations which officers enforce and which enables them to issue FPNs (fixed penalty notices) for breaches, do not restrict the distance travelled for exercise".
The force said: "All fixed penalty notices during this relevant period that have been issued will be reviewed for compliance. All recipients will be contacted."
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMihwFodHRwczovL25ld3Muc2t5LmNvbS9zdG9yeS9jb3ZpZC0xOS1sb2NrZG93bi1maW5lcy1yZXZpZXdlZC1pbi1kZXJieXNoaXJlLWFmdGVyLXdvbWVuLXRyZWF0ZWQtbGlrZS1jcmltaW5hbHMtb3Zlci1jb3VudHJ5LXdhbGstMTIxODMyODPSAYsBaHR0cHM6Ly9uZXdzLnNreS5jb20vc3RvcnkvYW1wL2NvdmlkLTE5LWxvY2tkb3duLWZpbmVzLXJldmlld2VkLWluLWRlcmJ5c2hpcmUtYWZ0ZXItd29tZW4tdHJlYXRlZC1saWtlLWNyaW1pbmFscy1vdmVyLWNvdW50cnktd2Fsay0xMjE4MzI4Mw?oc=5
2021-01-09 15:45:54Z
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