Covid-19: Bradford hairdresser found guilty of lockdown breaches

Sinead Quinn was convicted in her absence after racking up £17,000 in fines

A hairdresser has been found guilty of repeatedly breaking lockdown rules by opening her salon.

Sinead Quinn continued to trade from her shop in Oakenshaw near Bradford in November despite restrictions.

She was convicted of ten offences and fined £6,000 and order to pays costs of £2,200.

Quinn, who did not attend Kirklees Magistrates' Court, had originally been fined £17,000 but the demands were dropped following Friday's hearing.

Officers from Kirklees Council issued the fines after finding the salon open in breach of lockdown laws

Officers from Kirklees Council first issued a £1,000 fine on 9 November after Quinn was found to be trading from the premises.

It subsequently issued fines of £2,000, £4,000 and £10,000 after finding the salon open in breach of lockdown laws.

In November, Bradford magistrates granted the council an injunction forcing the salon to close, which was extended in February.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Quinn had been due to attend Friday's hearing but instead returned the envelope containing the summons with a letter saying the contents had remained "unseen."

Thahir Hanif, prosecuting on behalf of the council, told the court on one occasion when police found customers inside Quinn had refused to open the door, and "began to communicate through the letter box", filming the conversation on a mobile phone.

"When officers urged her to close she said she would not, and that the law didn't apply to her.

"She started quoting common law under the Magna Carta," he added.

Quinn, 30, of Bradford Road, Oakenshaw, was convicted of six counts of breaching Covid-19 regulations and four charges of obstructing a person carrying out their duty.

After the hearing Kirklees Council confirmed the £17,000 fixed penalty notices had been dropped in light of the decision.