A FURIOUS local has filmed a heated confrontation with a couple who drove 180 miles to rent an Airbnb home in Wales.
The man slammed the pair for breaking coronavirus lockdown rules, but the landlady has said the couple were homeless and had nowhere else to go.
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The enraged man said the village of Penmachno, in Snowdownia National Park, was home to at risk elderly people, but the Airbnb’s owner has hit back, saying the young couple had been kicked out of their house in Oxford.
The government has ordered Brits to “remain in their primary residence” during the coronavirus pandemic.
In a video shared on Facebook, the local confronted the couple and asked why they were staying in the village.
After the tenants explained that they were renting the home, the infuriated man said: “No you’re not, you’ve come up in the lockdown.
“Coronavirus – you know what’s going on don’t you?”
The Penmachno resident continued: “How dare you come to this village and dare spread this, there’s a lot of old people here and sick people.
“How stupid are you?
“Do you not watch the news and see people dying out there from this thing?”
The video was shared with a Welsh current affairs programme, Byd ar Bedwar, which interviewed the Airbnb homeowner on Wednesday.
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Adelaide Martin said the couple approached her after being kicked out of their house in Oxford, and that she was “shocked” by the local man’s “aggressive” outburst.
She told the programme, “There’s a young couple staying there, they come from oxford, they asked me Friday.
“They were in a sticky situation, they’d lost their accommodation due to the coronavirus, they’d been chucked out of their accommodation and they went through Airbnb and asked me if they could stay for a month because they literally had nowhere to go.”
She added: “I was trying to just help somebody in a difficult situation.
“I think people, you know, they have overreacted and I think, you can’t just blame this all on me or them.
“I’m just trying to help them that’s all I’ve tried to do.”
They were in a sticky situation, they’d lost their accommodation due to the coronavirus, they’d been chucked out of their accommodation.
Homeowner Adelaide Martin
The video has been viewed over 17,000 times on Facebook since it was shared on Monday, and one local resident said the police had been contacted.
It comes as Airbnb today blocked all UK properties from accepting new bookings unless they are for key workers.
The renting company said it has stopped homes from taking bookings up to April 18.
NHS staff, however, will be able to stay in Airbnb homes for free, and other essential workers will have their stay subsidised.
The company’s director of public policy, Patrick Robinson said: “Hosts across the UK are playing vital role in housing NHS and other medical staff as they continue their critical work.
He continued: “We’ve also heard from hosts who want to help others follow the rules and keep people safe during these unprecedented times.
“Restricting bookings on Airbnb to key workers and other essential stays will allow hosts to continue supporting front-line workers while following Government guidance.”
The government has ordered Brits to stay at home during the coronavirus pandemic, and has said people can only leave to buy essentials, for medical reasons, or to go to work if unable to work from home.
The latest figures show there are 65,077 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK, and 7,978 people have died.
