BMW driver broke Covid lockdown 'to look at snow' in Snake Pass crash

When police arrived, they found the car flipped over on the Snake Pass

A driver crashed his car after breaking the Covid lockdown to "look at the snow".

Court documents released to the Local Democracy Reporting Service show Noel John drove from Merseyside to the Snake Pass on 15 January last year, when all of England was under restrictions.

The 24-year-old, of Charles Street in St Helens, did not pay a £200 fine.

He was ordered to pay £2,021 after a hearing at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court in August.

A police statement seen by the LDRS - the only supporting document used as part of the case against John - said police were called to a stretch of the notoriously windy Snake Pass at 19:45 GMT on 15 January 2021 after reports of a crash.

Officers said there was snow and ice on the roads when they arrived on the scene, where they found a BMW on its roof in the middle of the road.

Two women and a dog were trapped inside, while John and another man were at the side of the road.

Four police officers, two fire engines, two paramedics and a recovery vehicle were needed to free those stuck inside.

John is said to have told officers it was his birthday and he had "come for a drive out to look at the snow" with friends from different households around Liverpool and Manchester.

At the time England was under a third national lockdown, limiting residents to only essential journeys.

All of the four adults were given £200 fines for travelling without a reasonable excuse and, after not paying his fine, Mr John was dealt with by a process called the single justice procedure.