Two Women fined for walking for Starbucks

[Superketchup]

What rule have they broken? I don’t understand. Two of them met - yes can meet one other person - they’d driven 5 miles - surely that’s ok?! - and they had a Starbucks each which the police said was a picnic?!
Why are they keeping takeaways open if it’s agaisnt the law to get one? I took my kids to the park, the coffee shop was open for takeaway. It was freezing. We got a hot chocolate each. I’m too scared to do so again!

Maybe they can't think clearly due to the sheer exhaustion caused by having to babysit adults who are just taking the piss?

I doubt it. Wandering out to sit in police cars in local beauty spots and occasionally issuing the odd unlawful fine is hardly taxing.

@Goingdooolally

I’ve not read the whole thread but is anyone else slightly suspicious? The photos look almost staged. Who took the photo of them? 🤔 Very glam portrait shot of the pair of them on the front cover of the Times this morning!

This is utterly irrelevant. The point is that they were doing nothing illegal, they were wrongly fined, the police have now admitted that.

@Arobase not just irrelevant but utterly irrelevant. That’s me told

During the first lockdown hardly anybody got in their cars to drive anywhere to exercise!

Apart from anything else during the first lockdown there was no specific rule allowing people to meet one other person from another household to go for a walk and there was no bubble system.

By February some people will have had a year of very little human contact and they need support. Things have changed since the first lock down.

If the government has received advice that walking with one other person is increasing Covid spread, they need to change the rules.

I

I'm pretty sure the photo would've been staged just for the news story, it wasn't taken on their walk.

@Againstmachine

"I've been called all sort of names today on Facebook, for actually stating what the law says, it's funny people one people punished for laws that don't exists."

I think that when this awful phase recedes away, some people are going to have real mental health issues about not being able any more to try and jump on people,e and prophesise about non existent laws that they have dreamt up. Guidance was put in place and is sensible but guidance is what it is.

For example pre Covid I loved walking some local footpaths which you saw the occasional other Walker. Now they are utterly packed and include people with dogs off a lead and constantly jumping up and occasionally snarling, coupled with other people happening to see friends and standing for a chat but blocking the way. As a result I have started driving a little distance to places more remote.

I have a law degree and capable of reading the Health Protection Regulations, as indeed are most people. I go by what the law says coupled by common sense. Despite that, the police across the boarder from me (I live 100 metres over the boundary try to claim I am not allowed to cross the boundary. Unfortunately this is their twatish senior officer, not the lovely PCs who I have chatted to. I explained I know the regulations very well and they didn't pursue it...just following his orders and the force campaign!!

This is the same force that was stopping and searching shoppers coming out of Sainsbury's and deciding what was essential items and what wasn't. Same superintendent responsible. Glad this this time they have backed off from this stupidity.

If you do get stopped and like these ladies were NOT breaking the law, refuse to accept the fixed penalty notice. They will then have to report you for summons. There is virtually no chance of it going anywhere. Virtually every report of fixed penalty notice that the CPS reviews gets cancelled or overturned as it either reports someone for non existent offences or has insufficient evidence. That information is available as is published.

I went for a walk with my friend the other evening - all wrapped up. She with a flask of tea and me with a flask of whisky. Police presence in the town, plenty of others doing similar. Police didn’t stop anyone!

You should not share a car ,

I still have my problem of constant walkers, runners, cyclists, dog walkers up and down our private road. I think they must just all be criminals at heart as I am sure 99% of them can read a sign which says "Private road - residents only".

That aside, I follow all the CV19 legislation but do not support it.

I agree with the post above that where issued without good cause under the law (law the police seem to be misinterpreting left right and centre) people should refuse to accept the ticket.

@Aggie72

That was meant to say many not mahogany 😂

I was wondering if you were having a pop at makeup or self tan 😀

@mrlissa

You should not share a car ,

They didn't.

Oh my God! I despair of you who don't think they broke any rules. You are the ones keeping us in this mess.

@Aglet

Oh my God! I despair of you who don't think they broke any rules. You are the ones keeping us in this mess.

Fab I'm so glad someone so intelligent has made an appearance. For all us meet mortal idiots please can you enlighten us as to what laws they have broken and please provide stats that show taking exercise outdoors is the reason the rates are so high...

@Aglet

Oh my God! I despair of you who don't think they broke any rules. You are the ones keeping us in this mess.

Find the rules that say you can’t drive a short distance for a walk, meet one person outside and have a cup of coffee. And when you’ve found them post a link.

Good luck, you might be gone some time.

@Aglet

Oh my God! I despair of you who don't think they broke any rules. You are the ones keeping us in this mess.

Only on MN do you find this kind of weird hysteria.

I mean the fine has been cancelled now, so also interested in what law they broke.

Oh my God! I despair of you who don't think they broke any rules. You are the ones keeping us in this mess.

You're the one who can't understand the rules and also the fives been cancelled as it wasn't justified!

@Aglet

Oh my God! I despair of you who don't think they broke any rules. You are the ones keeping us in this mess.

But they didn't break the law.The police have confirmed that.

What you really mean is they broke your rules. But that's not what the police are there to enforce. They are there to enforce the actual law, and in this case they didn't do that.

I despair of people being happy that the police can decide on a day to day basis what you will be fined for rather than following the law. That to me is very frightening.

@Aglet

Oh my God! I despair of you who don't think they broke any rules. You are the ones keeping us in this mess.

Dont talk rot

I dont think they broke any rules as ive not seen any rules that say you can’t drive to exercise

I have not driven to exercise so i haven't even broken your made up rules

@Chambored

I think the point was why drive 5 miles somewhere when you can no doubt exercise locally without the need to drive.

Few suggestions:

1. There may be nowhere to exercise properly if you live in a city centre flat. Why should those people be forced to walk the streets in traffic because they can’t afford to live in a country estate?

1. The local area could be dangerous for women to walk alone.

1. Because it’s fucking insane to stop people driving in their own car to go for a walk in the open fucking air.

I’m just back from the normally quiet but now heaving country park (old quarry) walking distance for everyone who lives in our mid-sized provincial town.

I think a more common sense approach would be to leave the parks that are walking distance from urban areas like ours to families and people without cars and encourage anyone with a vehicle to drive to somewhere a bit more remote to spread the exercise taking out a bit.

In addition to @Setal's list

1. People who live in villages surrounded by farmland but where the roads have no pavements and aren't safe. A 5 or 10 minute drive to a country park or similar would be a safer option particularly for children to have space to run around.

And there are areas like mine. Lots of lovely walks most of the year but most cross ploughed fields that are waterlogged and we had serious flooding over Christmas so even the other paths are largely bog.

In Spain, at the beginning people were literally not allowed to leave their houses except for food shopping. Even kids not allowed outside. Can you imagine?

@Goingdooolally

In Spain, at the beginning people were literally not allowed to leave their houses except for food shopping. Even kids not allowed outside. Can you imagine?

I wonder what physical and mental health problems have come from this. More Spanish people live in apartments too, it must have been hellish. I think they were allowed out a couple of times a day to walk a dog.