Coronavirus: North Yorkshire day-trippers 'ignore' rules

Malham Cove is a popular beauty spot in the Yorkshire Dales National Park

People are "blatantly ignoring" lockdown rules by visiting beauty spots and no longer staying at home, police have said.

North Yorkshire Police issued 61 fines over the weekend to people travelling to the area from West Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cumbria and Kent.

Day-trippers to the Yorkshire Dales accounted for the majority of fines.

The force said people should not be trying to find "loopholes" to justify having a day out.

Seventeen fines were issued in Malham, with 13 written in an hour, police said.

'Genuinely frightened''

One officer posted on Facebook about her experience at Malham Cove over the weekend.

"Politely engaging with folk to go back to where they came from (Kent, Barnsley, Bradford, Dewsbury, Accrington) their sense of entitlement kicked in, and I endured more abuse than I ever have dealing with drunken idiots outside nightclubs," she wrote.

She said one group had spat on the ground in front of her, another man had hurled abuse at her in front of his children, and she had to break-up one group who decided to have a barbecue on parched ground at the top of Malham Cove.

The national park has closed its car parks in a bid to persuade day-trippers not to come

Chris Wildman, chair of Kirkby Malham Parish Council, said the good weather had brought more visitors to the area and it was quite disturbing for residents.

"It's our home and so people are genuinely frightened if they start seeing an increase in visitors.

"Everybody here is trying really hard to social distance and are staying away from towns and cities."

North Yorkshire Police said 31 fines were issued on Saturday and 30 on Sunday.

'Tide turning'

Assistant Chief Constable Mike Walker said up to now the majority of residents and visitors had acted responsibly and abided by the rules.

"However, we are definitely starting to see a turning of the tide in some areas, with some blatantly ignoring the reason why we have been in a lockdown situation for the past five weeks and making a decision to no longer stay home and save lives," he said.

"As I have previously mentioned, this is not about finding loopholes in the guidance to justify having a day out.

"This is about keeping your elderly, vulnerable grandmother safe, your asthmatic child safe or your diabetic father safe."

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