Police will be carrying out checks on motorists in London on Valentine's Day to ensure they're not breaking Covid lockdown rules to see their lovers, according to reports.
Officers will reportedly be stopping drivers to check where they are headed.
They will ask about their intentions as they remind drivers of current travel restrictions aimed at curtailing the spread of the virus.
A Metropolitan Police source told the Mail on Sunday : "I’m going to be spending my Valentine’s Day ruining people’s Valentine’s Days", and joked that officers could end up asking male drivers: "Is that your wife, sir?"
The Metropolitan Police said it hadn't heard anything about plans for routine checks on drivers on Valentine's Day.
Under current lockdown rules, only essential travel is permitted while one cannot meet with friends and family unless they are part of the same household or support bubble.
It is the first time the force carries out regular spot checks on drivers during the pandemic.
Former Conservative Party leader Sir Ian Duncan Smith branded the approach on West-London "heavy-handed" as he said: "If people are just having a quiet Valentine’s Day, why should we be stopping them? We’re not a police state."
Last week, a lovesick boyfriend who drove a 200 mile round trip to meet his girlfriend in a beauty spot was fined £200 for breaching Covid lockdown regulations.
While a dad became an online sensation in December when he was jailed for breaching Covid-19 laws as he crossed the Irish sea on a jet ski to visit his girlfriend.
The Douglas Courthouse heard how the 28-year-old man took the four-and-a-half hour journey from the Isle of Whithorn, Scotland, to Ramsey - all in the name of love.
Dale McLaughlan, from North Ayrshire, Scotland, made the long crossing despite never having driven a jet ski before.
