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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Caitlin Doherty

People with second homes who travel over Easter will be fined, police warn

Police have warned going on holiday is not a good enough excuse to travel as fears grow that people may try and make the most of the warm weather.

Second homeowners are being told to keep away as Sunday is set to be the warmest day in six months, with temperatures in some parts of the country forecast to reach 20C.

There are also concerns that families may be tempted to travel over the Easter weekend, but police forces have said they will issue fines and punishments to those making non-essential journeys.

Gloucestershire Police issued the warning on holidays, saying officers will be stopping people who look like they may be heading away for a few days.

The force said: "There has been particular concern among some communities that people who own second homes in the area will be visiting over the Easter holiday."

A police officer speaks to a man relaxing in the sun in Greenwich Park (George Cracknell Wright/LNP)

In Hampshire, officers and paramedics have told people to stick to social distancing after three ambulances were called to a man having a bad acid trip following a house party, described as a "selfish and avoidable deployment".

The warnings come two weeks after parks and beaches across the UK were pictured full, days after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the social distancing rules.

On Saturday in Regent's Park, central London, cyclists were pictured riding close together in the sunshine.

People go for a jog in a quiet Cannon Hill Park in Birmingham (Jacob King/PA Wire)

And in nearby Paddington, a group of men were snapped working out in a tight-knit group while others, who appeared to be personal trainers, gave them advice.

Authorities in Wales have closed beach-side car parks to deter people from "using the weather to treat what is a national crisis like a national holiday".

Mark Thomas, cabinet member for highways and infrastructure at Swansea Council, said: "We absolutely cannot afford a repeat of the behaviour witnessed on previous occasions."

Dorset Council has taken the same approach, and the council has closed seafront parking bays and stopped the RNLI patrol in an attempt to prevent people from gathering at the seaside.

People exercise on the beach at the seaside resort of Weymouth in Dorset (Graham Hunt/BNPS)

One chief has said officers would "explain" and "encourage" people to stick to the rules, but would enforce with fines and punishments if people were not listening.

Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer, from Devon and Cornwall Police, told BBC Breakfast: "When we come to enforcement, that really is a last resort because, in a way, if we come to enforcement, then everybody has failed to understand the significance of this endeavour.

"It's not just visitors, even within my 4,000 square miles I've got my own population that really just want to jump in the car and travel.

"They want to go to the moors, they want to go to the beaches."

He described this weekend as "a time to remember the importance of stay at home and save lives".

The senior officer added: "If a £60 ticket makes you do something, and 684 people dying yesterday didn't, then I think you've got to take a good look at yourself as to whether you realise the seriousness and significance of where we are."

After glorious sunshine on Saturday, Sunday is expected to be even warmer, with some parts of the UK forecast to get temperatures of 20C.

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