It has emerged that a pensioner was visited by police and given a police warning after she decided to have a socially distanced cup of tea with her neighbours in their communal garden. Police officers attended the 82-year-old’s sheltered housing at 9.45pm to question her about the incident. This was after she’d returned inside and at the time police arrived, she was in bed watching television. The police officers informed her that she had been reported for drinking tea outside with her neighbours, which is a breach of coronavirus lockdown restrictions.
Lesley Magovern is the lady involved’s daughter and she has said that she is disgusted by the police action. She has said: My mother heard a knock at the door, and it was very late, and she wondered really who it could be. My mother is quite deaf, and she asked who it was, and she thought the voice said “It’s me”. Then mother assumed it was in fact me and she then opened the door. There were two officers stood there, a man and a woman with masks on and they asked if they could come in and speak to her. They did not show her any identification, so she just trusted the uniform and she was quite frightened. My mother has never been in trouble with the police in her life.’
Mrs Magovern has declined to name her mother in order to protect her anonymity. The incident occurred in Gloucestershire. The unidentified lady’s daughter has said ‘I cannot believe the police travelled from Gloucester to Charlton Kings so late for something so ridiculous. When they were there, they told my mother if it were to happen again, she would be fined’.
A spokesperson for Gloucestershire Police has said: ‘An officer has spoken to the complainant and an explanation was provided in response to concerns raised. She was content with this and the matter has been resolved. Police received a report of a potential Covid breach on Tuesday 9 March at 1.30pm suspecting that there was a gathering involving people from multiple households in a residential garden in Charlton Kings, Cheltenham. Covid response officers attended later that day at around 9.45pm where some residents were spoken to and given words of advice around current restrictions. Officers are deployed to incidents based on an assessment of the threat, risk and harm of the incident and in this case officers who are part of the Covid response team and are deployed across the county attended later that evening’.
Current Affairs Correspondent | My name is Oliver Down I am 22, and a staunch brexiteer. I am a Bristolian lad who studied politics in Leicester. I believe in free speech and accurate journalism and I won’t be afraid to give you “the other side” of the story!
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