Police in Wales have set up checkpoints to quiz motorists over whether they are making essential journeys, while forces in England have vowed to turn drivers around who don’t have a good reason for crossing the border.
Wales imposed a strict 17-day ‘fire-breaker’ lockdown on Friday which bars people from leaving their homes except for exercise, buying essential supplies or providing care.
Despite differing rules in England under the three-tiered system, zealous police forces in the border counties of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Shropshire have promised to set up their own stops to question drivers leaving the Principality.
Train passengers are also facing stringent checks, as British Transport Police have made plain on Twitter by warning that ‘those who think the rules don’t apply to them & selfishly break them, need to be worried about being spoken to by us.’
The police have been posting pictures of themselves out on the beat, the forces of Carmarthenshire and Powys tweeting images of their road-blocks and British Transport Police have also posted photos of officers moving up and down train carriages.
Police in Carmarthenshire, Wales, carry out spot checks on drivers after the ‘fire-breaker’ lockdown was brought in
British Transport Police North Wales division sparked fury for this tweet reminding people they will be checking trains
British Transport Police North Wales have been posting frequently on Twitter about how they are enforcing the lockdown
Following the outcry over their tweets about checking trains, they made a series of tweets to ‘put a few things straight’ which outlined the elementary basis for the rules
Traffic flowing freely over the border at Chepstow on Sunday despite the draconian travel ban
An unmarked police car in Powys, Wales, keeps an eye on the road to check for essential travel
As the stringent rules swept across the nation, Dyfed-Powys Police were left ‘escorting’ a family from Sussex, who had travelled more than five hours to Wales, out of the country.
The family were stopped on the A40 near Whitland in Carmarthenshire on Friday morning before being ‘suitably advised and escorted out of the country’.
A message released by Carmarthenshire Police on social media read: ‘During the early hours, a family from Sussex were stopped on the A40, Whitland.
‘Despite being aware of the national lockdown, they travelled over 5 hours for a non essential reason. The occupants were suitably advised and escorted out of county.’
BTP North Wales faced a barrage of criticism after they posted a picture of their officers speaking to people on a train with the caption: ‘We are checking if your journey is essential! Stay at home!’
They have since deleted the image but stood by their actions, saying: ‘Right folks – the last tweet generated a fair amount of comment so let’s put a few things straight.’
It then goes on to outline that ‘Wales is on lockdown. You should not be out without a reasonable excuse. It is our job to enforce the current regulations. We did this throughout the previous lockdown too.’
However, despite the ambitious police forces, the vast network of roads across the 160-mile frontier makes enforcement almost impossible and traffic was pictured flowing freely over the border at Chepstow on Sunday.
There was also no sign of checkpoints on major roads into Wales today – despite police stating officers would patrol the border to bolster lockdown.
Gloucestershire Constabulary said it would be stopping people from England and encouraging them to turn around if ‘not satisfied with their explanation’.
But there was no evidence of enforcement on four roads into Wales this afternoon, with traffic seen flowing freely across the border.
The A40, A466, A4136 and B4521 were all unoccupied by the authorities, despite the recent ‘firebreak’ regulations.
And some businesses in Ross-on-Wye, one of the first major spots across the border in England, said they had seen little drop in footfall.
But others said they had been less busy since the ‘firebreak’, which came into force at 6pm on Friday.
The market town is a regular destination for day-trippers from Wales.
While there was no sign of even one police car on the A40, A466, A316 or the B4521 today, going both in and out of Wales, traffic was especially frequent on the A40, which flows right into the middle of Monmouth.
In Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, some shop workers said they had seen little downturn in business since the new Welsh restrictions.
Siobhan Wilks, 48, who works at a Cancer Research UK shop in the town, said: ‘We haven’t lost business, no. [But] we used to get lots of coach trips, and we haven’t had any of that.
‘But it’s not been less busy today, which is surprising. Saturday was really busy.’
Meanwhile Rob Vidler, 30, the son of the owner of the King’s Head Hotel, said: ‘It’s normally day-trippers [here] and weekend breaks. For October it’s been fine – it’s been normal.
‘This time of year, we don’t expect [many] people to come anyway. It would normally drop off.
‘We do get a lot of customers from Wales – Monmouth is the next closest town – going for a drink. It’s been fine.’
But Karl Henton, 49, the landlord of the King Charles II pub, said he had seen a reduction in business since the ‘firebreak’.
He said: ‘When we first opened in July, before [Wales] had opened, it was manic. It was really busy.
‘I was half-expecting it to be the same yesterday – but it may have been the bad weather.
‘The ‘firebreak’ has not been beneficial for us. This is the first major town across the border. We would expect [people] to be here.
‘But it’s not like people are staying at the moment.’
This week police revealed extraordinary plans to patrol the line in order to stop families from crossing over for a half-term holiday.
Officers said they would try to stop caravans sneaking into England from Wales and deter Welsh motorists defying First Minister Mark Drakeford’s ‘power-mad’ orders from making ‘non-essential’ journeys.
A caravan entering Wales at Chepstow on Sunday afternoon despite strict rules on essential travel
Officers in Carmarthenshire have a road block set up for drivers entering the town
First Minister Mark Drakeford speaking at a press conference in Cardiff ahead of Wales entering a two-week ‘firebreak’ lockdown at 6pm on Friday
Gloucestershire Police announced an operation covering routes from Wales into the Forest of Dean where officers would stop motorists travelling into England to find out what they were doing.
Drivers would be encouraged to turn around and head back to Wales if officers ‘are not satisfied with their explanation’, a spokesman said.
If they refuse, police will tell forces in Wales so they can issue fines.
People caught breaking the rules in Wales can be fined up to £10,000, with penalties starting at £60.
However, drivers have been seen since Friday crossing the border on the A494 at Queensferry and on the A5445 between Chester and Wrexham in a breach of the new restrictions.
A spokesman for Gloucestershire Constabulary said: ‘While we cannot issue fines to those travelling from Wales into the county we can inform the host force of those we stop about what has happened so they can take action.
‘Officers will be running an operation from tomorrow and over the weekend that will cover routes from Wales into the Forest of Dean and if we stop someone travelling from Wales we will be engaging with them to find out why, explaining the legislation and encouraging them to turn around if we are not satisfied with their explanation.
A sign telling customers they will not be able to buy ‘non-essential’ items is seen at a Tesco store in Penarth, Wales
A store in Penarth, Wales, covers home electrical products with a sheet of plastic as supermarkets ban the sale of non-essential items
Shelves of books are covered in plastic at a Tesco store in Penarth, Wales, as supermarkets are banned from selling non-essential items
A sign tells customers that items deemed ‘non-essential’ by the Welsh Government will not be available to purchase
A sign next to the autobiography of Captain Tom Moore tells customers they must not purchase ‘non-essential’ items
Home electrical goods are covered by a sheet of plastic at a Tesco store in Penarth today
‘If they don’t then turn around we will then inform the force that polices the area they have travelled from so that they can issue a fine.
‘It is important to stress that the vast majority of people are abiding by the rules but in line with our policing approach, we will take action where there are flagrant breaches.’
Welsh ministers today revealed they are already planning for another ‘firebreaker’ lockdown after Christmas – as they conceded their ‘trolley police’ ban on shops selling non-essential goods is not working properly.
Despite the imposition only having been in place since Friday, deputy economy minister Lee Waters urged people to brace for a re-run in January or February.
The warning came as Mr Drakeford signalled a U-turn is coming on the ban on shops selling non-essential goods, saying he recognised the public was ‘fed up’ and ‘common sense’ was needed.
A backlash has been gathering pace, with bewilderment that alcohol is seen as ‘essential’ but school uniform, vacuum cleaners and hairdryers are not.
Supermarkets have actively taped off shelves of ordinary goods, blocking off entire aisles or covering them in plastic.
But critics have branded the move ‘madness’ and said the only person to benefit will be Amazon owner Jeff Bezos, as shoppers will just buy things online instead.
Whole areas of supermarkets have been closed off in line with the restrictions imposed by Welsh ministers
Retailers have been ordered to sell only essential goods and so many supermarket aisles are roped off and products covered up
Items including children’s clothes are covered up ‘in line with government guidelines’ at a supermarket in Cardiff today
The Welsh Government was also unable to provide clarity over what goods counted as ‘essential’, with one minister instead saying that he hoped retailers would have a ‘grown-up understanding’.
More than 50,000 people have signed a petition calling on the Welsh Government to reverse the ban, which it described as ‘disproportionate and cruel’.
And last night Mr Drakeford tweeted: ‘Thank you for all your efforts over the last 24 hours to stay at home. We know people are fed up.
‘It’s not easy, but we all have a responsibility to stop the virus spreading.
‘We’ll be reviewing how the weekend has gone with the supermarkets and making sure that common sense is applied.
‘Supermarkets can sell anything that can be sold in any other type of shop that isn’t required to close. In the meantime, please only leave home if you need to.’
Welsh health minister Vaughan Gething suggested the review would look at why the rules were not being applied consistently.
He told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: ‘We’re reviewing with supermarkets the understanding and the clarity and the policy because there’s been different application in different parts.
‘We all need to step back and remember why the firebreak has been introduced, to recognise that it is hard on lots of people, but we’re in a week where we’ve already seen 61 deaths take place here in Wales.
‘Just about a month ago there were only six deaths in a week so coronavirus is taking off. We are seeing more people lose their loves.’
He said the Welsh Government had worked with supermarkets on the ban and discussed which items were affected by it.
‘We’ll talk to them again on Monday so everyone understands the position we’re in to have some clarity,’ Mr Gething said.
Labour leader Mr Drakeford has been facing criticism over the ban on non-essential sales during the ‘firebreak’ lockdown, and tweeted last night admitting people were ‘fed up’
On the BBC’s Andrew Marr show today, Welsh health minister Vaughan Gething suggested the review in Wales would look at why the rules were not being applied consistently
‘It’s also about reducing the opportunity for contacts. That’s what we’re really trying to do – we’re asking people to stay at home to stay lives, that really is right back where we are.’
Speaking on BBC Radio Wales’s Sunday Supplement, Mr Waters said: ‘The projections and papers we published on our worse-case scenario projections show it is likely we are going to need another firebreak in January or February.’
He said the first and second lockdowns came too late and cases and deaths are rising again.
‘We are doing our best to flatten the curve. We can’t stop the curve, we can’t stop the virus spreading. Our best hope is to wait for a vaccine to help us bring it under control.’
There were a further 1,104 cases of Covid-19 diagnosed in Wales today, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 42,681.
Public Health Wales said five further deaths had been reported, with the total rising to 1,777.