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One of the Derbyshire walkers, Jessica Allen, said her car had been surrounded by police almost as soon as she reached the Foremark Reservoir after crossing the county border from her home in Leicestershire.
He said there were so many policemen that he thought someone had been killed, adding: “Right away, they start questioning us. One of them started reading my rights and I was looking at my friend thinking ‘this must be a joke.’
“I told him that we had come in separate cars, that we had even parked two spaces away and even brought our own drinks. He said, ‘You can’t do that because it’s classified as a picnic.’
Her friend Eliza Moore said she was “stunned at the time” so she did not challenge the police and gave them details so they could send out a fixed penalty notice.
“Anyway, seeing a police officer is pretty scary for some people and we really weren’t expecting them to come up to us and tell us we were doing something wrong,” he said. “We don’t want to get away with breaking the rule, but it seems a bit unfair that you can be fined for something so vague.”
Derbyshire Police said: “Driving to a location, where the exercise could easily have been conducted closer to a person’s home, is clearly not in the spirit of the national effort to reduce our travels, reduce the possible spread of disease and reduce the number of deaths.
“Each officer will use their professional judgment on a case-by-case basis. However, people should expect to be challenged and understand the clear reasons why they may be asked about their movements given the critical situation the NHS currently finds itself in.”
Andrew Bridgen, Conservative MP from North West Leicestershire, said he considered the reservoir as a local area, adding: “It is important that common sense be used when enforcing the guidelines, and a fine rather than issuing guidance appears to be overzealous. . “
Derbyshire police were criticized for “babysitting surveillance” after installing a drone to film people walking in pairs in the Peak district to deter “non-essential” travel in the first lockdown.
Figures from the Council of Chiefs of the National Police showed that the total number of Covid fines issued increased by almost 30 percent in the first 20 days of December to 32,329 due to an increase in violations. That was 24,933 at the end of November. The number of £ 10,000 fines for raves or house parties has risen from 136 to 198, which could raise nearly £ 2 million.
Forces continue to benefit from a low eight per cent officer and staff absence figure across the UK, although there are variations between police officers. London is the worst hit with 14 per cent of officers out. Without London, the national figure would be 6.9 percent.
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