Group of 11 Mancunians travel 120 miles to Whitby to ‘look at the Abbey’

A group of 11 people from Manchester travelled to Whitby over the weekend to ‘look at the Abbey’ despite lockdown rules.

A record-breaking number of fines were issued by North Yorkshire Police last week, up 26 on the last seven day period to 169, the busiest the force has been since the beginning of the third lockdown. 

North Yorkshire Police lead for the force’s Covid-19 response, Superintendent Mike Walker said: “Sadly, the weather did not seem to put anyone off. We are still dealing with people travelling long distances, making irresponsible visits and journeys in North Yorkshire.

“Over the weekend we had a group of 11 people travel from Manchester to Whitby to look at Whitby Abbey, people from Lancashire and Liverpool coming to the Dales and, sadly, a couple of incidents where some pubs decided it would be a good idea to open their doors and welcome customers in to watch rugby or play pool.

“Also house parties continue to be an issue that officers have to deal with. I can’t stress enough the risk these people are taking.”

Since the start of the third lockdown, 640 FPAs have been issued and 2,532 since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020.

Walker also said the force had a ‘challenging week’ due to the half term break. He said: “Many families will be wondering what to do with the kids to pass the time. What I would say is ‘stick to the rules’.

“Now is not the time to take your family or your children to the coast or to the Dales. We are still in national lockdown and there is a requirement for all of us to stay at home and only make journeys where necessary and when we do, to stay local.”

The third national lockdown remains in place with the guidance ‘you must stay at home‘.

Wednesday’s data shows the UK has recorded more than 3 million coronavirus cases with over 113,000 deaths linked to the disease.