From McDonald’s to buying drugs: The most bizarre excuses for breaking lockdown rules
We may be in lockdown, but even a £200 fine won’t get between some people and their takeaway
Last updated 20th Apr 2021
Police around the country have been cautioning and fining people who continue to flout Covid-19 restrictions, despite being in lockdown.
Fines have been issued for travelling long distances and making unnecessary trips, including days out and takeaways.
In one particular case, a man claimed he had driven over 100 miles from Luton to Devizes for a McDonald’s drive thru.
However, his excuse fell flat on its face given the Wiltshire town doesn’t even have a McDonald’s branch, and he was fined £200.
A very expensive takeaway...
A craving for fast food seems to be a theme in the issuing of fines, with another man stopped in Walton having driven 30 miles to a fried chicken shop.
Meanwhile, one man cited “buying cannabis” as the reason for his 45-minute train journey from Surbiton to Guildford. Unsurprisingly, this was not deemed an essential journey, and Surrey police issued a £200 fine.
Among the other bizarre excuses is someone who drove from Portsmouth to North Wales to pick up a car bumper, racking up 270 miles.
The North Wales police force who stopped the car said: "Travelling nearly 300 miles for a piece of cosmetic plastic for your car is not essential at this time.”
One group claimed they were unaware of the Covid-19 pandemic
The most inventive excuse of all, however, came from a group of party-organisers in Basingstoke, who shocked Hampshire police when they claimed that they didn’t realise there was a global pandemic because they “never watch the news”.
Tweeting about the incident, the force used the hashtag, "#ThereAreNoWords".