POLICE have blasted Covid lawbreakers who use a loophole to meet up with pals at motorway services. The stations are a welcome sight for anyone desperate for a snack or a comfort break on long journeys. And they exist to offer food, toilets and a place for motorists to rest. But a clampdown was issued […]
POLICE have blasted Covid lawbreakers who use a loophole to meet up with pals at motorway services.
The stations are a welcome sight for anyone desperate for a snack or a comfort break on long journeys.
And they exist to offer food, toilets and a place for motorists to rest.
But a clampdown was issued after an increasing number of rebels gathered at motorway services to party with friends.
West Yorkshire Police were moved to act after fun-seeking visitors met at the Skelton Lake services on the M1 near Leeds.
It comes after The Sun revealed another lockdown loophole yesterday allowing Brits to visit pals inside if they need to use the loo.
People can even go inside other homes – but only briefly to use the toilet, get a drink or walk through to the garden. The same rule will apply to toilets when pub gardens reopen in April.
Lockdown rules are set to be eased from Monday, with the Rule of Six to return outside and outdoor sport to be allowed again.
Brits will be told to ‘stay local’ rather than ‘stay home’ – although there’s no guidelines to indicate exactly what that means.
Service stations have remained open all year despite the multiple lockdowns.
Toilets, fuel, snacks, hot drinks and free short-stay parking are available to all visitors – including an increasing number of bored Brits.
A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said: “Can I just remind people that Skelton Lake services is not a place where groups can meet up.
“There is no “LOOP HOLE” that people can use. Yesterday our mounted Police team were there enforcing the COVID rules.
“Several people were dealt with. We have stopped large and small groups who seem to think the services are ok to meet. This is NOT the case.
“We will be down again today to monitor/enforce the COVID regulations.”
Social meet-ups were being arranged with covidiots mixing with lorry drivers, who are classed as essential workers paving the way for service stations to remain open.
Indoor dining is available at service stations, including chain restaurants, shops and fast-food retailers.
Visitors to service stations across the UK must wear a face covering when inside the building except when seated, or exempt from doing so.
Brits will have to wait until April 12 to go to a pub outdoors or get a haircut under the PM’s current roadmap.
Self-catered holiday accommodation in England will also open on this date, but only for one household, and rules prohibiting travel abroad are being reviewed by a new task force.
Pubs and restaurants will be able to resume indoor service from May 17, and two households will be able to mix inside.
And on June 21, all remaining coronavirus restrictions will be lifted – with mass gatherings permitted and nightclubs finally allowed to reopen.
