39 coronavirus fines issued in Scarborough borough over bank holiday - more than the rest of the county combined

More fines for coronavirus-related breaches were handed out across the Scarborough borough over the bank holiday weekend than the rest of North Yorkshire combined, it has been revealed.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

North Yorkshire Police said that a total of 52 fines under the coronavirus legislation were issued with 39 taking place in the Scarborough area as people headed for the seaside.

That compares to just four in Harrogate, four in Selby, two in York, two in Craven and one in Hambleton.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Of these, 35 were issued for breach of gathering restrictions, 13 for breach of movement restrictions and four for contravening a direction.

Stock image. JPI MediaStock image. JPI Media
Stock image. JPI Media

Visitors to North Yorkshire were given 29 of the fines.

Breaches of the regulations include overnight stays in motorhomes, door-to-door selling, and groups of people from different households drinking in public areas.

In one incident on Saturday, the police, fire and rescue service, ambulance service and the coastguard, were all called to the scene of an incident in Scarborough when a man became stuck on a cliff near the castle.

The man had been drinking with a group of friends and climbed up the cliff before becoming stuck. He was rescued by North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service using a harness and was uninjured.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

In another incident in Scarborough, a 17-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and assaulting a police officer after a youth was seen jumping on top of a police vehicle and then became abusive while being arrested.

He has been released while enquiries continue.

Superintendent Charlotte Bloxham, silver commander for the police response to Covid-19, has reminded people that the virus has not gone away.

She said: “As the weather gets better and we now have more freedom to leave our homes and visit our favourite beauty spots, we urge people to remember that we are not yet out of the woods in terms of the spread of the virus.

“People can still catch it, including your children, parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters. We will continue to engage and explain the current regulations, and encourage you to follow them, but as this weekend has shown, we are not afraid to use the legislation if we have to.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“We ask that visitors respect local communities, have an alternative plan and move on if their favourite place is busy, especially if car parks are full.

“And importantly, please don’t take any unnecessary risks and put yourself, or anyone else in danger.”

Chairman of North Yorkshire Local resilience Forum, Richard Flinton, added: “Please think ahead to reduce the spread of Covid-19. If somewhere is busy and crowded – even if it’s outside you would be much better off finding somewhere else with less people and a space to park.

“If a car park is full then just go somewhere else. It’s really that simple. There’s plenty of space in North Yorkshire – use it thoughtfully and respect local communities by planning ahead and taking your rubbish home.”

A message from the Editor:

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper.

Thank you