A man has been fined for driving 131 miles to pick up furniture after ‘forgetting’ about the coronavirus lockdown.
The man had driven his van from London to Repton, in Derbyshire, on Saturday evening.
He was questioned by police when they noticed his van was straddling the pavement.
They thought he needed help, but the man admitted to officers from Derbyshire Constabulary that he had broken lockdown rules to collect some second-hand furniture including a second-hand wardrobe.
He told officers he had ‘forgotten’ about the national lockdown and he was fined £200.
A spokesperson from the Melbourne and Mercia Police Safer Neighbourhood Team said: ‘The motorist explained that he’d just picked up some furniture, including a second-hand wardrobe, from a property in the village.
‘However, officers were stunned to discover the driver had embarked on an eye-watering 250-mile-plus round-trip from London to Derbyshire to collect his consignment.
‘The driver acknowledged the non-essential nature of his outing, stating he’d forgotten about the national lockdown. He was handed a £200 fine for breaching current regulations.’
Officers added they also spoke to a person later that evening who was sat in a vehicle in a car park.
Curious as to what they were doing, they quizzed the driver who admitted they were playing Pokemon Go.
Officers also deemed this a non-essential journey and fined the driver.
The spokesperson added: ‘Officers explained that this constituted a non-essential journey and gave him a fixed penalty notice.
‘The man was also reminded to stay home, stay safe and avoid unnecessary travel to play with Litleo Lion and Pikachu in the darkness of car parks at night.’
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