A father was today fined £480 because after his son was caught flouting coronavirus lockdown rules four times.
West Midlands Police said the fixed penalty notice could be doubled and reach as much as £960 if the teenager continues to go outside without good reason.
The neighbourhood policing team in the Blakenall area of Walsall said the youngster had been out three times, prompting a warning to the boy’s father. But the boy – who had been abusive to police – then went out a fourth time, prompting the fine.
It came as a record high of 854 coronavirus deaths were announced in the UK today, taking the total to 6,227, with 51,608 confirmed cases and Prime Minister Boris Johnson still in intensive care.
Police enforcing coronavirus lockdown rules this weekend in London. There is no suggestion the man pictured was fined
Sergeant Stephen Pursglove of Walsall Police said: ‘Some people seem to think that they will not catch the virus but they can unwittingly pass it on to others as well as catching it themselves.
‘Thousands of people have now died in our own country and many thousands more will die if we don’t all do everything asked of us to prevent the spread of the virus.
‘While the vast majority of people are doing as they are asked it is a pity we now have to put ourselves at risk dealing with those who do not.’
Police have been struggling to enforce lockdown rules in recent weeks, with officers seen using megaphones to clear busy parks in London.
Yesterday, Number 10 confirmed sunbathing was not allowed because it counted as a ‘non-essential’ activity.
It came as a senior policeman demanded spit hoods for all officers to protect them from criminals coughing and spitting at them amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Sergeant Simon Kempton, the operational lead for Covid-19 at the Police Federation, told MPs the virus was being ‘weaponised’ by criminals after dozens of such assaults in recent weeks.
He said: ‘Now more than ever, while Covid-19 is being weaponised, we need those spit guards in the pocket of every single police officer, not just in custody, on the street as well.’
There have been dozens of attacks on police officers by thugs claiming to have coronavirus.
Yesterday, 19-year-old Thomas Wilson was jailed for six months for threatening to cough and spit in a female officer’s face while he was being detained.
Wilson had been flouting coronavirus lockdown rules when firearms police swooped to arrest him on his birthday last Tuesday.
Warwick Crown Court heard he was wanted in connection with an earlier road rage attack in Coventry and began to angrily lash out while being detained.
He then threatened to spit and cough at PC Katie Wynne before officers pulled a spit hood over his head and arrested him.
Wilson, of Binley, Coventry, pleaded guilty to common assault on an emergency worker and was jailed for six months yesterday.
Oliver Cook, 35, was caught on camera threatening officers with coronavirus before spitting at them in shocking body-cam footage in Whitstable, Ken
Judge Andrew Lockhart QC said that in light of the ‘unprecedented threat from Covid-19’ the potential harm of his threat aggravated the offence.
He told Wilson he should be ‘thoroughly ashamed’ of himself during his strongly-worded sentencing remarks in which he shamed the yob for disregarding lockdown rules.
The judge said he would not hesitate to ‘impose swift and condign punishment’ to send out the message officers will have ‘proper and timely protection’ from the courts.
In Bournemouth 50-year-old Martin Turner has been jailed after purposely sneezing on police officers
Last week, four thugs were jailed for separate spitting and coughing assaults on police officers in Kent and Dorset.
Oliver Cook, 35, was caught on camera threatening officers with coronavirus before spitting at them after he was arrested outside a supermarket in Whitstable, Kent, for stealing meat. He was jailed for 120 days.
Martin Turner, 50, coughed at officers and sneezed in their direction as he was being arrested for being drunk and disorderly. He was jailed for 24 weeks after admitting the assault.
Scott Sanders, 36, was arrested over a disturbance at an address in Bournemouth before spitting at a custody sergeant when he was detained at a local police station.
Sanders, who was also in breach of a previous suspended prison sentence, admitted to assaulting an emergency worker and was jailed for six months.
Adam Power, 37, was arrested for stealing a bottle of wine from a Co-op store in Bournemouth.
He also attempted to spit at a police officer and kick them in the ankle while in a holding cell.
Police use a spit hood on a suspect. Human rights group Liberty calls the equipment ‘dangerous, degrading and unjustified’
Spit hoods – like this one worn by a model – are made of nylon mesh and go over the wearer’s head
Power admitted charges of assaulting an emergency worker, theft and criminal damage and was jailed for five months.
None of the four thugs tested positive for coronavirus.
The health of police officers during the pandemic remains a concern, as they are required to leave their homes on duty during the lockdown, putting them at an increased risk of catching coronavirus.
Also speaking to the Home Affairs Select Committee, Bedfordshire Police chief constable Garry Forsyth said forensics company Eurofins was due to make some antigen tests available for police forces in his region in the next two to three weeks.
He said that NHS slots for tests might be made available in the same time frame.
Derbyshire Constabulary chief constable Peter Goodman said he had been told by Martin Hewitt, chairman of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, that they may be able to progress with antigen tests by late April.
