Couple's car seized after 300-mile lockdown roadtrip

A couple who breached lockdown rules and drove 300 miles on a “mini break” have been fined by police and had their car seized.

The pair, from Kent, were found sleeping in their car at a beauty spot in Falmouth, Cornwall, over the weekend and admitted making the unnecessary journey when confronted by police.

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They were both issued with fixed penalty notices and a £60 fine for breaching lockdown restrictions. Checks on the driver revealed that they had no licence and no insurance, resulting in the vehicle being seized and impounded by police.

The officer who found the pair posted about the incident on Twitter, saying: “Found 2 people sleeping in a car in #Falmouth Checked their details & both live in #Kent & had driven down for a mini break. But driver had No Insurance & No Driving Licence! Car seized & 2 #FixedPenaltyNotices issued for Breaching the #Covid_19 #lockdown #restrictions #StayHome”.

Lockdown guidelines ban all but essential travel - defined as travelling to fetch vital groceries, for medical reasons, to care for a vulnerable person, or to get to work where working from home is not possible.

Devon and Cornwall Police superintendent Adrian Leisk congratulated the officer for her actions and slammed the “selfish” couple for making the journey.

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He tweeted: “Still struggle to comprehend the selfishness of a minority of individuals. Important message for those still thinking it’s a good idea to ignore the Government guidance; you will be fined, you will be turned around (and in this case we’ll seize your car) good work Emma”.

Police have recently stepped up traffic patrols in a number of areas following a sharp rise in the number of speed offences.

Some forces have seen instances of speeding increase by as much as 50 per cent as drivers take advantage of the quieter roads. Among the worst offenders were one driver clocked at 151mph on the M1 and another doing 134mph in a 40mph zone.