Police in north of England BAN sledging after Brits journey to neighbouring towns to enjoy snow & break Covid rules
COPS in northern England banned sledging after people from neighbouring areas broke Covid rules by piling into a town to enjoy the snow.
Police in Whitby, North Yorkshire, said the "public should not attend" a nearby moorland after reports of crowds making the most of the snowfall.
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reports the seaside resort's force posted on its Facebook site, saying: "We are receiving reports that people are journeying to Goathland and the surrounding areas to sledge.
"This is in contravention of the current lockdown and government guidelines around necessary travel and the public should not attend and risk a fine."
But this sparked a backlash on social media from a weary public.
One said: "Oh come on. Kids have had a proper bad time, now they’ve been taken out of school and you are warning them against having some socially distanced fun they may not get for another five years.
"Grow up."
Another said: "Sort people out that are staying in second homes and holiday lets, you didn’t want to know when I rang and reported them."
Doing something like this with their children could be massively beneficial for mental stress and what lockdown brings
Angry parent
Meanwhile, one parent said: "It's hard for everyone, what are we supposed to do, sit at home climbing the walls with the kids cooped up all day before online schooling tomorrow?"
The force later updated its post after the fury.
It said: "There was information and posts on Facebook, encouraging people to travel out of area to visit Goathland and the surrounding area.
"This post was aimed at those considering travelling quite some distance to visit our area, the Government advice is to 'stay at home' — exercise locally."
Britain is set for more snow this week as a new Beast from the East is due to hit in the coming days.
Freezing conditions similar to those which caused the phenomenon in 2018 are forming, with experts warning we could be battered once more.
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Meanwhile, the PM warned that he might have to tighten lockdown restrictions again — a week after England's new national lockdown began.
The PM said as he visited a vaccination centre in the South West today: "We are going to keep the rules under constant review.
"Where we have to tighten them, we will.
"But we have rules in place which, if properly followed, we believe can make a huge, huge difference."