POLICE in North Yorkshire continue to come across many instances of lockdown rule breaking, often allied to other more serious criminal activity.

Last weekend proved to be another busy one for police in North Yorkshire, with the force seeing no let-up in visitors to the area or the number of fines issued.

Across Saturday and Sunday 61 fines were issued, with Malham again proving to be a hot-spot for out-of-area day-trippers.

Of those fines, nine of were to a group of men, from Halifax, Bradford and Southend-on-Sea, preparing to make a day of it. They had two lit barbecues, and had charcoal and food and drink to keep them going.

Other weekend visitors who left £60 poorer were:

  • A family from Sheffield who decided to take a trip to the Yorkshire coast, but broke down on the A64
  • A group of off-road bikers from West Yorkshire
  • Four people from London visiting Dibbles Bridge with no good reason
  • Five people from Leeds who had travelled to Lumby to have their picture taken next to a specific pylon

Assistant Chief Constable Mike Walker said: “Yet again we’ve seen a number of people ignoring both Government advice and the multiple requests we have made stay away from North Yorkshire.

“Sadly there seems to be a minority of people who think that they are immune to the Covid-19 virus and who choose to not only endanger themselves, but also endanger others through their irresponsible behaviour."

In one instance, a car overtook a tractor in front of a marked police car on the A64. The two occupants' explanation that they had come to the seaside for some fresh air from Leeds failed to satisfy the officers and merited a fixed penalty notice.

Two bikers from Greater Manchester who made a 220 mile round trip to the east coast to buy fish and chips picked up a £60 penalty each and went home empty handed. An officer on the Whitby Neighbourhood Policing Team commented on Facebook: “Unfortunately for those motorcyclists, we were in the right ‘plaice’ at the right time.”

An officer who stopped and arrested a young woman for driving over the prescribed limit was abused and told she hoped he got Covid-19 as she has symptoms.

A dramatic pursuit on the A1(M) through North Yorkshire saw five men arrested. After being made aware of two BMW cars travelling in convoy through the county, officers spotted one car travelling south on the A1(M). After it failing to stop and made off at high speed, specially-trained officers pursued it, deploying a stinger device. Eventually it was brought to a stop near Dishforth.

Two police cars were damaged during the pursuit, which reached speeds of up to 110mph. Three people in the car were arrested on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle, possession of a knife and suspicion of possession of cannabis. The 19-year-old driver was further arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving, failing to stop, drink driving and possession of cannabis.

Shortly afterwards, a BMW, suspected of earlier involvement was sighted by officers on the A1(M) and stopped near Wetherby without incident. The two men inside were arrested.

Officers have also notched up success against quad bike thefts. Last Sunday, officers stopped a white Mercedes Sprinter van on the A1(M) near Boroughbridge.

A search revealed two quad bikes in the back, one of which had been stolen in a burglary from a farm in the Craven area. They also found a small amount of drugs. The Sprinter van was seized. Two men arrested at the scene were released, while enquiries continue.

A more sinister incident occurred at Gayle near Hawes when several residents received anonymous notes accusing them of breaking Government lockdown rules.

Inspector Mark Gee commented: “This behaviour is not acceptable; if anyone has any concerns they can talk to us and we should be able to resolve any perceived concerns. At this time we should be working together.”