A frustrated farmer took lockdown into his own hands and ‘closed the countryside’ by plastering his land with placards ordering ‘non-locals go home’, after ‘thousands’ flocked to the area amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Reid Nutter, 53, whose family own a farm in Roughlee in Pendle, Lancashire, spent the weekend erecting placards as tourists flouted social distancing rules.
After Boris Johnson announced parks would close, Reid decided to ‘close the countryside’ to the public too.
Farmer Reid Nutter, 53, from Roughlee, Lancashire, built a sign reading ‘countryside is closed’ after ‘thousands’ of visitors flocked to his village and flouted social distancing rules
Another sign built by Reid, which reads: ‘Non-locals please go home. Stop the spread!’ The farmer said he erected the placards because he felt ‘frustrated’
By the time the Prime Minister announced lock down on Monday night, the farmer was already working on six more signs in a bid to halt the spread of the virus and protect elderly locals.
The father-of-three proudly showed off his handy-work to daughter Brooke Nutter, 21, who chuckled at his ‘extreme’ action, but shared the pictures online to spread his message.
Now Reid is continuing to warn town and city dwellers to stay home and avoid spreading the virus, after some took pictures of his messages and walked past.
Reid, from Roughlee, Lancashire, said: ‘These are extreme measures for extreme times. If I can do a little bit to slow coronavirus down then that’s what I’m hoping to do.
‘The signs went up because I get frustrated, I don’t see why people need to walk in the countryside – you don’t need to come into rural areas.
‘Boris closed all the parks and recreational areas, then everyone flooded here. I thought “if he can close the parks, why can’t I close the countryside?”
Reid, a father-of-three, pictured with his daughter Brooke, 21, who helped him to spread his message to tourists visiting the village of Roughlee in Lancashire via social media
Reid (right) with daughters Kelsie (centre), 24, and Brooke (left). The father proudly showed off his handy-work to Brooke, who chuckled at his ‘extreme’ action
‘I got an awful lot of abuse, people were taking pictures of the signs then just walking past.
‘I’d say “shouldn’t you think first before carrying on? Use a bit of common sense and go home”.
‘I know why they’re doing it, to get fresh air, but they’re putting themselves in more danger. A lot of elderly people live here as well.
‘It’s shocking, there were thousands of people out there.’
Reid is calling for people to soak up the sunshine from the comfort of their back gardens instead of trekking around rural areas and potentially putting additional pressure on the NHS.
Reid, a grounds-worker who has his own farm, said: ‘By doing what they’re doing, people are putting strain on the NHS. If they fall, they’ll end up with mountain rescue and ambulances out.
‘I know people say ‘well, I go to the supermarket’. Yes, but you have to buy food, you have no choice. You have a choice about walking in the countryside – potentially falling and getting the emergency services out.
‘Unfortunately the British mentality is if someone says “you can’t do this”, they’ll say “I’ve done it for years – I’m going out”.
The family’s German Shepherd, named Tyson, who the farmer joked had become his ‘security’ after erecting placards and warning visitors to ‘go home’ at weekend over coronavirus fears
‘I’ve put the wheels in motion to keep people away, hopefully they’ll see the messages and think again.
‘I know it’s nice here but you don’t need to come in big groups all huddled together. Stay in, stay in your back gardens, go to the shop, then go home.
‘Don’t bring it out to the country, we don’t want it. I’ve got four signs up at the moment and I’ve got another six sheets of plywood to make more.’
In an attempt to bolster her father’s efforts, sales executive Brooke shared his signs online to encourage even more people to stay away.
Brooke, from Roughlee, Lancashire, said: ‘The pictures made me laugh, but he’s definitely right in what he’s doing.
‘With it being nice weather and people being off work it seemed to have brought people out, it was busy like a Bank Holiday weekend.
‘He’s put signs out to tell people not to come and populate the area, it’s quite an elderly community there.
‘I’m very proud of dad’s efforts, he’s trying his best to keep the local community safe.’