Pensioner gets visit from police over socially distanced cup of tea.

[MercyBooth]

www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2021-03-18/pensioner-given-covid-breach-warning-over-socially-distanced-cup-of-tea

Doesnt it make you glad to be alive.

I know it's not an easy job to do with all the mixed messages put out by the government, but sometimes the police really shoot themselves in the foot.

At least it's not Derbyshire for once...

FFS

What is wrong with people! Why would you report this, just spiteful.

So some knob actually saw this happen, got offended and called the cops? They need to give their head a massive wobble!

Poor woman, she’s on her own

Who was the spiteful fucker that reported this?
A small gathering of people who have had their first jab and in all likeliness have not seen much of family in 12 months.

This is the bit that worries me:

A force spokesperson said: “An officer has spoken to the complainant and an explanation was provided in response to concerns raised. She was content with this and the matter has been resolved.”

Why are the police reporting back to spiteful “complainants”? Why did SHE need to be content so that the matter could be resolved?

That is 100% not how policing works, where you are not the direct victim of a crime.

What utter bobbins.

That must have been terrifying fir the poor woman. I know when I looked after am elderly lady she asked me to come round when she was expecting a dr or repair person or something.

Who seriously reports an old lady having a cup of tea. Ffs.

Absolute cockwombles whoever reported them. I have followed all the rules but I cannot get het up about people doing this.

I’m becoming increasingly baffled and concerned about what types of people join/are allowed to join the police force given this last week. Surely the skill in weirding such power is understanding when and when not to use it.

‘Weilding’ such power. It is bloody weird though

It makes me very very uneasy.

@VVKills27

I’m becoming increasingly baffled and concerned about what types of people join/are allowed to join the police force given this last week. Surely the skill in weirding such power is understanding when and when not to use it.

The police follow up on what is reported. So what utter twat waffle thought this was worth calling the police?

Just cannot understand the mentality of people who do this. So petty and vindictive, but it seems a surprising number of people seem to get their kicks this way.

Also pretty depressing that the police bothered to follow it up - at 9.45pm no less.

Easy to go and intimidate some pensioners. Perhaps they could speak to groups of 6 6ft burly men cycling in the paths in a group near my house, or the large mixed groups which congregate in my local park, or the group's of 20 teenage lads biking on the roads all together in my area not social distancing at all. A city where police and pcso are often passing by.

It seems that whenever there is lockdown rules to enforce its easier to speak to women or the elderly.

They did manage to break up a socially distanced outdoor worship at my friends church which was in the rules but after the police turned up no one wanted to continue.

I have a very low opinion of the police after all this.

@AnaisNun

This is the bit that worries me:

A force spokesperson said: “An officer has spoken to the complainant and an explanation was provided in response to concerns raised. She was content with this and the matter has been resolved.”

Why are the police reporting back to spiteful “complainants”? Why did SHE need to be content so that the matter could be resolved?

That is 100% not how policing works, where you are not the direct victim of a crime.

What utter bobbins.

The complainant is the person who complained about the police calling on this pensioner NOT the person who reported the social gathering to the police.

Mumsnet has been full of people on these very threads saying they’d report at a drop of a hat so not sure why people are shocked

I’m not bothered (as I break similar rules) myself but the attitude of some on Mumsnet is ridiculous

The fact it’s elderly must mean it’s ok but when kids or other adults have met up outside for a drink etc people go ape shit!

I’m happy she did and I’m jus annoyed that people have double standards

It’s no difference

‘I’m becoming increasingly baffled and concerned about what types of people join/are allowed to join the police force given this last week. Surely the skill in weirding such power is understanding when and when not to use it’

This has concerned me for years. Unless things have changed recently , having a degree or even common sense has not been a pre-requisite of joining the police.

My god, that's awful! Why on earth did they go around to an elderly person's house so late at night? Every elderly person I know would be in bed well before 9.45. My mother was always in bed by 8.30!

How frightening to have someone knocking on the door so late. I'm not sure I would have answered the door if that had happened to me.

Plod choose to harass pensioners rather than arrest criminals.

Notice that yet again our noble police force went to pick on a woman when they couldn't even arrest the violent men on Clapham Common on Saturday.

Oh my gosh. The pandemic has really brought out the best and worst of humankind.
Who would think it was their civic duty to report pensioners sitting outside with a cup of tea? Because the police are only investigating what some spiteful person has reported.
Large indoor parties, definitely yes.
A few elderly people in a garden, definitely no.

It says communal garden, and she was with neighbours and they were socially distanced...... As the garden is for all of them, what's the rules there? As it was with neighbours they're all on their own property aren't they? Struggling to see if any rules have actually been broken? (Though I don't know the rules around shared gardens ATM so I don't know)
But either way, doesn't wash when they can't attend actual crimes because they're too busy, yet can do this kind of stuff.
Ridiculous.

If it had been a bunch of teenagers in the park who'd been spoken to by the police I can't see it making the press.

@Sadsiblingatsea

Plod choose to harass pensioners rather than arrest criminals.

Yep what’s worse The nosey bat neighbour who for some reason thought it was breaking the rules . The police for actually going out to ‘investigate ‘ Or actually the spiel at the end the matter has been resolved . Honestly the police have had a lot of bad press recently and rightly so .the call handler should of used the common sense and told nosey bat neighbour to step away from the window . The police officer should be embarrassed and re trained and the neighbour well she’s just bored but get a grip people.