Dozens of revellers posed for a picture during a group drinking session in breach of coronavirus lockdown rules at the weekend – while shoppers queued outside reopened DIY stores and motorists returned to the streets of London on Monday.
Around 30 people gathered for an outdoor party last weekend in Coatbridge, Lanarkshire.
One of the group joked online that they were ‘away for a social distance swally’ and that she would ‘probs be in the cells for 4’.
More than 300 people have liked this picture of a group brazenly flouting lockdown rules in Coatbridge, Lanarkshire
Shoppers queue up outside a B&Q store in York today as people purchase DIY equipment during the lockdown
Traffic data from London showed congestion levels were 34% below average on Monday, significantly higher than the same time last week
Despite a source telling The Sun the group were ‘heavily intoxicated,’ the picture of the illicit gathering has picked up more than 300 likes – and no one has told them to go home.
Since Britain was put into lockdown, the public is only supposed to go outside for essential shopping/medical appointments or taking part in one hour’s exercise. Key workers are allowed to commute to and from work.
Police Scotland said it was aware of non compliance across the country and confirmed its officers attend those calls. A spokesman told The Sun: ‘Officers will engage, explain, encourage to prevent ongoing and future non-compliance.’
Sunseekers across Britain have been flouting rules throughout the lockdown by visiting beaches and parks, while there have been long queues outside stores such as Homebase and B&Q, which have opened during the lockdown.
Traffic data from TomTom showed the congestion level in London at 4pm today was 34 per cent below average – significantly up on last week’s figures at the same time. Friday at 4pm saw congestion 48 per cent below the 2019 average, Thursday 47 per cent, Wednesday 44 per cent and Tuesday 42 per cent.
Traffic builds up on the A40 at Perivale in West London at 7.20am on Monday despite the coronavirus lockdown continuing
Police remain in populated areas such as Hove’s seafront to try and prevent people from breaking social distancing guidelines
On Monday MailOnline reported on a neighbourhood party in Wales that was live streamed on Facebook and shut down by police for breaking coronavirus lockdown rules.
Mandy Higgins, 54, held the gathering at her home in Corwen, Denbighshire, and filmed and uploaded it to the internet.
The mother of four said the people involved were her family members but admitted she ‘probably shouldn’t have done it’.
Ms Higgins said she and the others just wanted to cheer themselves up during the lockdown.
Two men who sparked a huge rescue operation when they went diving for scallops had travelled a combined 575 miles to do so, it emerged today.
The friends had driven from Edinburgh in Scotland and Cornwall to meet up in Bridport, Dorset.
They launched their own boat from West Bay and 47-year-old man from Cornwall went diving five miles out.
He became detached from his marker buoy which was later discovered by the other man, also in his 40s, who contacted the coastguard.
Exmouth’s lifeboat was alerted by H.M. Coastguard around 3.45pm on Saturday to reports of the missing diver four miles off the coast of Seatown, Dorset.
A major search and rescue operation involving two helicopters, the coastguard, RNLI lifeboats, several fishing boats and a Royal Navy ship swung into action.
The missing diver had surfaced safely but lost sight of the vessel after his line was detached.
He was luckily spotted by an eagle-eyed sailor onboard HMS Tyne.
The lockdown is due to be reviewed on May 7, but there have been signs that it could be modified before this date, with early measures likely to include encouraging the construction industry to get back to work.
Mr Johnson said on Monday that the UK is at the point of ‘maximum risk’ in its battle with coronavirus, adding that there are signs the country is ‘passing through the peak’ and ‘coming now to the end of the first phase of this conflict’.
Comparing the disease to a mugger, he said: ‘This is the moment when we have begun, together, to wrestle it to the floor.’
But he said it is also the moment of maximum risk because of the danger that people would look at the ‘apparent success’ and ‘go easy’ on social distancing measures.