UK lockdown: ‘Untold anxiety’ over police rural exercise advice
Looks like rural communities are still not yearning for the return of the visitor. The swathe the virus is cutting through rural economies (see two of the stories below) suggests this might be a dangerous line to hold for too long.
Rural groups say police guidance that people can drive to the countryside to exercise will cause “untold anxieties”.
The National Rural Crime Network and other groups said it risks spreading the virus through unnecessary journeys.
Driving to the countryside for a walk is “likely to be reasonable” if more time is spent walking than driving, the guidance says.
Police groups say the advice is not for the public – it is meant to help officers decide when to charge someone.
The letter challenging the guidance is signed by the National Rural Crime Network, the Countryside Alliance, the National Farmers’ Union, and the Country Land and Business Association, who say they represent “many millions of residents and thousands of businesses” in England and Wales.
They said they receive “hundreds of concerned messages a day” about people flouting the laws restricting movements, and say there are serious concerns this guidance will “encourage even more people to carry out unnecessarily long journeys”.
They have written to Justice Secretary Robert Buckland demanding a change to the pandemic advice.
“The key message needs to remain: stay home, save lives. Anything which complicates that message is unhelpful,” the letter says.