Police have fined two men from Hull for breaching covid restrictions after they travelled to Knaresborough for a McDonald’s.

Officers from North Yorkshire Police said they spotted the men’s car at St James Retail Park at 12.45am on Monday.

The men told police they were out for a drive to get a meal from McDonald’s.

The restaurant is 66 miles from Hessle in Hull where they drove from.

Both were issued with fixed penalty notices for being outside place of living.

Police handed out 102 fines in North Yorkshire for breaching lockdown restrictions in the past week — 12 of them were in Harrogate.

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It takes the total number of fixed penalty notices issued during the third lockdown in North Yorkshire to 1,662.

Superintendent Mike Walker, who leads the county’s covid response, said it was important there was “no let up” in complying with restrictions over the forthcoming four-day Easter weekend.

He said:

“Together with our partner agencies and the people of York and North Yorkshire, it is imperative that we maintain the collective effort to reduce the infection rate as low as possible while the vaccination programme is rolled-out across the population.

“We can all see that better times are on the horizon, that’s why we must keep going and not allow all the hard work and sacrifice to be undone through complacency.”

North Yorkshire’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner has urged residents to remember the potential consequences of flouting lockdown guidelines.

Julia Mulligan’s warning comes after a weekend which saw groups gathering to drink along West Park, resulting in one pub being issued with a prohibition order.

She said police were doing all they could to respond to public concern but were only able to disperse large gatherings:

“The police have no powers to deal with breaches of social distancing – that’s public health advice. Part of the problem is the public expect the police to deal with it, but the police don’t have the power.”

Harrogate’s Neighbourhood Policing Inspector Penny Taylor said officers had spent a busy weekend engaging with the public and explaining the importance of following regulations, as well as assisting Harrogate Borough Council’s licensing team at two pubs. She said:

“Personal responsibility is now key to controlling the virus and while the police cannot enforce social distancing guidance, we urge people to remember that although some of the restrictions have been relaxed, the virus has not gone away, you can still catch it and pass it on to your family and friends.

“Thankfully, the vast majority of the public continue to do their bit and follow guidance which means our officers have rarely had to enforce the Government regulations.”

While six people have been allowed to meet outside from today, over the weekend the rules remained that people could only meet with one other person from outside their household. Ms Mulligan said the announcement that rules were going to change this week probably led to a greater number of people feeling safe to go out over the weekend and meet more people.

“I’m sure that’s actually what they thought. It puts the police in a very difficult set of circumstances, to have to deal with that. In a way, the lockdown was easier to enforce.”

Read more on this story:

• Harrogate bar issued with prohibition notice after repeated breach lockdown rules
• Groups gather on Harrogate’s Stray before lockdown restrictions eased

She said the government’s guidance had been sufficiently clear but it was trying to balance the need to get the economy moving again against the risk to people’s health. In many cases, she said, problems being reported to the police were in fact for other agencies to deal with, such as local authorities with licensing breaches.

Julia Mulligan, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire

As well as central Harrogate, North Yorkshire Police said crowds were out in “unprecedented numbers” in Knaresborough at Conyngham Hall and the riverside, as well as Brimham Rocks. Outer Harrogate Neighbourhood Policing Inspector Steve Breen said:

“Our officers reported the vast majority of people were acting responsibly and we thank them for their continued efforts over the past two months.

“The overarching aim of the police response has always been to keep people as safe as possible, and encourage them to follow the regulations, reducing the transmission of the virus and protecting lives but it is up to members of the public to ensure that they are following the social distance guidance.”

With cooler temperatures forecast over the coming days, Ms Mulligan said she is hopeful that the scenes reported over the weekend will not be repeated. However, she said it was important for all authorities to work together, especially as people who have been kept in lockdown for weeks or months want to get out and are limited in the options available.

“I would like to see a more strategic approach to dealing with some of the issues we’ve encountered. A more coordinated approach amongst local authorities, working more closely not just on the ground with policing colleagues, but at a planning level to try and come up with a more robust way to deal with these issues. If this goes on all summer and people can’t get away on holiday, I am concerned.”

She added:

“I just want people to remember there’s a killer virus out there and the last thing we want is a second wave.”