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Cumbria is an idyllic part of the world, a popular choice for hikers and hikers in good weather.
But with the coronavirus lock still in place, this is not a normal holiday weekend.
Officers from the Cumbria Highway Watch Unit have shared several examples of motorists who have been caught taking non-essential trips in the county.
This family of four was driving from London to Motherwell for a three day break. Pic: @CumbriaRoadsPol
The force has issued dozens of fines since the blockade began, and some of the reasons for breaking the rules have been especially egregious.
Only on Saturday, a driver was arrested while trying to drive from Manchester to Dundee to buy a puppy.
Another motorist left London for Manchester to buy an Audi, and then decided to travel to Carlisle to enjoy some speakers he had seen on eBay.
A Wigan family was fined after being caught on a car trip to Windermere. Officers escorted them from the area.
Police fined a group that made a 250-mile trip from the capital to Ambleside, saying, “Unfortunately, London is not a reasonable distance from which to have traveled.”
Minutes later, “brief words of advice” were given to a family who had traveled to the lakes from Southend-on-Sea, a one-way trip of 307 miles.
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These infractions have been happening regularly. On Friday, three men traveled from Stockport to Cumbria “to feed the ducks.”
They were escorted back to the highway, and the officers described their actions as “quacks.”
Some of those detained by the police for making a non-essential trip have tried to claim that they were on the road for work, although this was not the case.
People in a park in London, where the police say they are “losing the battle” to enforce the blocking rules. Pic: Hackney Police
Despite the fact that the Cumbrian highway police unit has tried to be cheerful about some of the violations they have seen in recent days, their message is clear: “The closure is still active. The Lake District is still closed. “
Police in other parts of the country have also said they are “fighting a losing battle.”
In London’s Hackney district, officials said “literally hundreds of people” ignored government orders to stay home, sit in parks and eat pizzas, beers and wine.
