Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Stephanie Balloo & Philip Dewey

English mum who 'posted racist anti-Welsh rant after driving 100 miles to beach' investigated by police

A mother who allegedly posted an anti-Welsh rant after being stopped walking on a Welsh beach after travelling more than 100 miles is now being investigated by police.

When confronted at Barmouth beach, in Gwynedd, a woman unsuccessfully tried to argue that lockdown restrictions had been eased and "Boris Johnson said that you can".

She filmed the exchange, and was told by officers the rules are different in Wales.

Afterwards the comment "F*** you Wales you bunch of b*******" appeared on the woman's profile.

Footage of the exchange went viral after the woman, who has not been named, filmed the incident.

Now, in response to allegedly "racist" and "abusive" messages, police are investigating.

North Wales Police's temporary assistant chief constable Nigel Harrison said: "The officers acted exactly as expected in a calm and professional manner, protecting the local community.

"I am aware comments that would have appeared to have been posted by one of the offenders after the incident, had derogatory, abusive and racist tones.

"As such, they will be reviewed for criminality.

"We look forward to welcoming her back to Wales to further discuss this when the regulations are relaxed."

While people in England are able to drive for exercise, the Welsh Government has said that people should stay local when exercising with essential-travel only measures still in place.

The Birmingham Mail reported that the mum had shared the footage herself as she was completely clueless to the border restrictions.

She can be heard challenging two officers in the clip above as they ask her to leave the beach.

With her recording phone directly pointed at the officers, she fumes: "No give me your number and your name, who do you work for?"

A female officer then gestures to her uniform in response, as a male officer asks her to "put the phone down".

But she responds: "I've got every right, I'm in a public place, I will record you, you're upsetting my six-year-old child with autism. It's for my protection.

"You're telling me it's illegal for me to be at this beach, when Boris Johnson has said that we can."

The officer replies: "We're telling you that it's different in Wales than it is in England."

Adamant on travelling to another beach with her child, the mum then asks: "So what beach can I go to now then today?"

But she's told she can't visit any in Wales as the officer tried to explain there is no non-essential permitted travel into the country.

She then continued to question the facts, asking if the information was "one hundred per cent" correct.

At the end of the clip, she can be heard admitting she has travelled three times to the beauty spot in lockdown.

She added: "So there's no way at all,  do you know I've been here three times before?"

The rules may have been relaxed to allow travel to destinations in England for unlimited exercise, but this is not the case in Wales.

While you can go out for an unlimited time for exercise it should always be locally and start and finish at home.

This means you can travel to local beauty spots down the road - but for those living in England it definitely rules out a 100-mile day trip to Wales and back.

It's also worth bearing in mind that ignorance isn't an excuse and you're unlikely to get away with telling the authorities "I didn't know" if you get pulled over or stopped on your journey.

There have been numerous instances of police stopping motorists, walkers and others across Wales since the lockdown began.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.