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.

They did, that's why it is in the news. The 'visit' happened a couple of weeks ago.

All the newspapers are rehashing the local newspaper story, same words etc. It makes a change as the local paper usually gives us local stories from everywhere else but here

This is getting ridiculous. All common sense has gone out the window. Who.is going to take responsibility for the inevitable decline in the mental and physical health all the elderly people in sheltered housing complexes now afraid to use their.communal gardens?

It sounds like bullying of old people to me

@ZenNudist

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.

The police are cowards and bullies. Only interested in soft targets.

Get burgled and you don’t even get a police visit, just a crime reference number. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Our park is flipping rammed - groups of people, tourists, dog walkers (commercial), people driving up from across the city to ‘meet for a coffee’. Usually mid week it’s not too busy - now it’s like carnival weekend every day.

Police are bit stopping many - I’ve only seen them stop to chat to 2 women sitting on a bench with their babies (next to a gaggle to lads on bikes).

I would have thought that a sheltered housing complex counts as one household - or at least as far as the communal facilities go. It's certainly arguable and the police enforce the law, they don't make it, so the only people who can decide it is the courts.

All through this the police have been overstepping the mark on making the law. It's not down to them, they enforce it, they don't make it up as they go along.

If they are all elderly in sheltered housing wouldn't they have been vaccinated by now anyway?

If the vaccine doesn't free u up to have a SD chat and cup of tea in a garden then what's even the point if it

@Firefliess

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.

The police would probably have ignored the group of teenagers, potentially too much hassle.

I live in a flat and have a very narrow garden as the garden for upstairs runs along side it. This lady was probably further away from others than if my neighbour and I are both in our gardens at the same time!

The people who defend this sort of "policing" genuinely disgust me. What are you going to do with yourselves when this is all over?

It's teh people who report these events to the police who you should be complaining about - I don't know why people can't see the difference, but it was front page Daily Mail so people just take that on board and instantly respond (as teh DM wants you to do, more clicks for them) spread it on MN and FB, lots more clicks. Win, win DM.

I have come back to this thread after thinking about it. If it is a communal garden why are the neighbours not allowed to use it at the same time? Why does one person using it trump all the others who may want to use it? As long as they were socially distancing then they are just sitting in the garden allocated to their property.

Through lockdown 1 we had no outside space as 1 neighbour from hell commandeered the whole communal garden so no one else could use it. We have now moved so have a private garden which has been a lifeline in this lockdown.

These neighbours were doing nothing wrong and the person who complained should hang their head in shame.

It's just really mean and heavy handed.

I hope whoever runs the sheltered housing has spoken to those involved and said they can use the communal garden as they wish.

Something needs to change with regards to policing in this country and the police need to be held to account and investigated.
There are so many stories of them not bothering to turn up for robberies. We had a local attempted break in with an elderly lady. He was caught on a camera yet still nothing done.

I had a violent ex boyfriend trying to break down my door once. Called the police ‘sorry love we had quite a few stabbings tonight so we don’t have time to come’

Yet an elderly lady having a socially distanced cup of tea? Easy pickings. Let’s go scare her at night when she’s in bed. It’s just not on and they shouldn’t get away with it.

@TempsPerdu

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.

Absolutely disgusting I’d have been terrified with a knock on the door that time of night

@Delatron

Something needs to change with regards to policing in this country and the police need to be held to account and investigated. There are so many stories of them not bothering to turn up for robberies. We had a local attempted break in with an elderly lady. He was caught on a camera yet still nothing done.

I had a violent ex boyfriend trying to break down my door once. Called the police ‘sorry love we had quite a few stabbings tonight so we don’t have time to come’

Yet an elderly lady having a socially distanced cup of tea? Easy pickings. Let’s go scare her at night when she’s in bed. It’s just not on and they shouldn’t get away with it.

Well said Low hanging fruit Shame on them😡

@Donotfeedthebears

Get burgled and you don’t even get a police visit, just a crime reference number. 🤷🏻‍♀️

This happened to my friend Cctv footage Tools abandoned that were used to cut open the gates and cars brake pipes in order to move it were found abandoned..were told to just put them in the bin Given a crime number Disgusting

Absolutely disgusting.

If that was my DM, i'd be knocking every door to find out what nasty twat had reported her.

@Redact

Absolutely disgusting behaviour by the police, to go to the old lady's door late in the evening. The poor woman must have got such a shock. I too have concerns about the police and who gets in. I was pulled over for a spot check and found the attitude of the traffic police to be confrontational and neither were wearing masks and did not socially distance.

Jeez..could have been anybody.. If police knock at your door..you do not have to answer it and you do not have to let them in

Once it gets dark ..I wouldn’t be answering my door

I am not puzzled that someone reported this. There are some frankly spiteful bastards out there.

A communal garden. She had the right to sit in it. Neighbours in the same building did too. So no one even broke any fucking rules. They all just sat in their own garden.

Christ. What kind of dystopian nightmare is this?

@Strangekindofwoman

Some people on MN would have reported her. They would shop their own granny for a head pat from the covid police.

That had me spitting my tea lol

@TooManyPlatesInMotion

I am not puzzled that someone reported this. There are some frankly spiteful bastards out there.

A communal garden. She had the right to sit in it. Neighbours in the same building did too. So no one even broke any fucking rules. They all just sat in their own garden.

Christ. What kind of dystopian nightmare is this?

It’s this one

And it’s even peddled by this bloody idiot

Dr Hilary insisted that no one should be washing their car on the street as it poses an unnecessary risk.

The doctor said that it wasn't sensible to be in the street for the length of time it takes to wash a car, adding: "Washing your car is unessential apart from the windscreen for safety. Leave your car dirty for the timebeing."

@dowser total fucking shitshow.

I once called the police (at 8pm) as a small group of people were kicking a dog in a field behind me.
At 12 that night the police phoned me for an update as to whether they were still there

Seriously..they should be ashamed of themselves.

@Mistymountain

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

Because some people are utter knobs.

What on EARTH goes through some people's heads - there's Marge sitting in the garden having a cuppa with Betty - ring the police?

However, having seen the people on this forum absolutely desperate to shop their friends/neighbours/family for pathetic reasons for over a year, I'm not surprised.