Police and military cracking down on non-essential travel including motorbike rides, driving lessons and caravan trips

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Rebecca Speare-Cole28 March 2020

Police are clamping down on non-essential travel, like motorcycle rides, driving lessons and caravan trips, which are not permitted as part of daily exercise sessions during the coronavirus lockdown.

Officers are urging motorcyclists to stay out of the countryside and told them they cannot claim it is part of their permitted daily exercise.

The force had already come under fire from some quarters for using drone footage to shame people travelling into the Peak District to walk the hills.

Derbyshire Police said they used water dye to spoil the sight for tourists
Buxton Police SNT/Facebook

And in North Wales, officers criticised a driver who took their child out for a driving lesson because they wanted to make the most of the quiet roads, saying this was not an essential journey.

On the weekend when the clocks go forward, heralding better weather and lighter nights, police kept up the strict message that the countryside was not open to visitors.

Inspector Mark Gee, manning a vehicle check point in Richmondshire, North Yorkshire, said: "We have had motorcyclists coming into the Dales claiming they are exercising.

"We have to remind people, exercise should be done from your home address, on foot unless you're on a bike.

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"Every time you are on a road there's an increased chance of a collision and if that happens, it is putting a strain on our local NHS resources which are limited in any case, even without us facing a worldwide crisis."

He said the quieter traffic could encourage bikers to speed up on open roads, leaving them more at risk of crashing.

Mr Gee said the checkpoint near the Catterick Garrison was being supported with officers from Royal Military Police.

He felt the message was getting through to most people that the countryside was not open, and noted roads were less busy than previous days.

A UK road sign advising drivers to stay home protect NHS saves lives
PA

Meanwhile, Derbyshire Police introduced further measures to prevent gatherings in the county by dyeing a "blue lagoon" in Buxton black.

In a Facebook post earlier this week, the Buxton safer neighbourhood policing team said officers had been told people were congregating beside the water in Harpur Hill.

The post said: "No doubt this is due to the picturesque location and the lovely weather (for once) in Buxton.

PA

"However, the location is dangerous and this type of gathering is in contravention of the current instruction of the UK Government.

"With this in mind, we have attended the location this morning and used water dye to make the water look less appealing."

Police also shared incidents where officers stopped camper vans and turned them around to go home.

Royal Military Police with North Yorkshire Police at a vehicle check point near Catterick Barracks
PA

A motor patrols officer in Devon stopped one camper that had been driven down from Birmingham, saying in a social media post: "This gentleman is now on his way back to the Midlands!"

And in North Wales, an officer tweeted about stopping a camper van and speaking to the driver, commenting: "A quiet word and an apology and he is headed out of North Wales."

In Swansea, police stopped a 15-year-old who was caught driving in the early hours because he was "bored of being stuck indoors".

Officers said the vehicle has been seized and the boy was facing numerous offences.

Meanwhile, Cumbria Police praised bikers for staying away from an area where last weekend hundreds congregated.

In a tweet the force thanked riders for staying away from Devil's Bridge at Kirby Lonsdale, which would usually be popular place to stop and take in the views on a spring Saturday.