Police deal with trainspotters breaking Covid lockdown rules

[ardbealach]

On Line in today's Chester Standard 14 January 2021...

 

Police deal with trainspotters breaking Covid lockdown rules

 

TWO trainspotters have been sent home from a Cheshire train station having been warned their hobby is not a valid reason to be outside in lockdown.

Under the current Covid lockdown, all residents in England must stay at home unless they have a valid reason to go outside.

This could be shopping for essential food, attending a medical appointment or travelling to work if you cannot do it at home – but not trainspotting.

And that was the message police had to deliver to the pair at Acton Bridge station today, January 14, after a resident contacted officers to report the lockdown breach.

In a post on Twitter, a spokesman for British Transport Police said: “Following complaints from a local resident about trainspotters, we have attended Acton Bridge station.

“Two persons were at the location and were encouraged to leave which they did.

"Trainspotting is not an essential activity and you shouldn’t be leaving home to do it during lockdown.”

For the lockdown guidance and exceptions in full, see gov.uk/coronavirus

 

[tigerburnie]

If you can go fishing to aid your mental health, surely doing some train spotting is of similar value I used to like collecting numbers and shed plates, but my Dad told me off and took the spanner off me...........................................

[ardbealach]

Meant to tick it as funny.  Like it!

[woodenhead]

At the end of the day, the rules are go out of the house for necessary business - so shopping and exercise - standing on a station no matter how desserted is neither necessary business nor exercise unless you live in one of the few houses a few metres from the station.

 

It's hardly news, but the number of people who are saying on Facebook "What harm does it cause" don't realise it's not one rule for some but not for others, it's the same rules for all of us.

 

Stay home, save lives

[Gilbert]

I think the comparison with fishing is relevant but trackside is a bit different from a station location I suspect.

My other half saw numerous fisherpersons while out yesterday. One even caught a fish..

I paused for a few minutes today on my dog walk - during which I did not meet a single other human being...

Edited January 14, 2021 by Gilbert

[Dagworth]

My walk this afternoon was dictated by watching where a train was on Traksy, walking to the railway bridge about 5 minutes from home. A short rest while the train went past and walk back. 2x class 47 and a rake of Mk3s off for scrap. Only the third time I’ve left the house this year I believe. 
 

 

Andi

Edited January 14, 2021 by Dagworth

[Dava]

I follow a Twitter thread by a driver who takes photos during his off duty exercise walks/rides.

 

[sandwich station]

Fishing can hardly be classed as a necessity.

[Gilbert]

Just now, sandwich station said:

Fishing can hardly be classed as a necessity.

A lot of people are doing it.

[crompton 33]

If there are no people around and on the end of a station platform i dont see it as a  problem .  If the station staff are fine about it so am i .  Yes i do go down to my local station . 

[Michael Hodgson]

If they were loitering on the platform, it's a fair cop. 

If they were socialist distanced from each other and on the public highway overlooking the line, they could always claim to be taking some exercise.

[30801]

2 minutes ago, sandwich station said:

Fishing can hardly be classed as a necessity.

 

Quote

Covid-19

Statement from the Angling Trust: Updated January 8th 2021

The Government have now formally responded to the representations made by the Angling Trust. We have promoted the huge benefits of fishing on individual health and wellbeing and have been able to present a case to which the Government have listened. On this basis I am pleased to announce that fishing will be permitted during the third national lockdown in England.

The DCMS Sports Team confirmed the following:

“fishing is allowed as exercise so long as participants adhere to the rules on staying local, gathering limits, social distancing and limiting the time spent outdoors”

This has also been confirmed by DEFRA:

 

How the hell is fishing classed as exercise but going for a walk with a drink is a picnic? 

[Erixtar1992]

Told to go home.... ooooooh such a deterrent for other spotters to read. Lol

[Rivercider]

I think if we put our minds to it we can all attempt to justify our actions

 

cheers

[woodenhead]

3 minutes ago, 30801 said:

 

 

How the hell is fishing classed as exercise but going for a walk with a drink is a picnic? 

It does seem daft, can I go for a walk at the local resevoir with my friend if we arrive by seperate cars with a coffee each - No.

 

Can I visit the same resevoir by car and go fishing - Yes.

 

If the fish is your only means of eating then I may accept it's ok, but last time I looked Sainsburys was full of the stuff.

 

Doesn't make sense, and as always people look for gotchas on not complying with a simple request - stay the f*ck at home unless you really need to go out. 

[simontaylor484]

I am lucky i.can trainspot from my bedroom window we live very close to the Wakefield to Goole line. Any numbers i can't see i usually can get from real time trains.

[30801]

2 minutes ago, woodenhead said:

If the fish is your only means of eating then I may accept it's ok, but last time I looked Sainsburys was full of the stuff.

 

They get really cross at you if you eat the fish you catch anyway.

[woodenhead]

2 minutes ago, 30801 said:

 

They get really cross at you if you eat the fish you catch anyway.

So you catch it and toss it back - have to say that is barbaric - playing with another living creature for sport.

[great central]

2 minutes ago, woodenhead said:

It does seem daft, can I go for a walk at the local resevoir with my friend if we arrive by seperate cars with a coffee each - No.

 

Can I visit the same resevoir by car and go fishing - Yes.

 

If the fish is your only means of eating then I may accept it's ok, but last time I looked Sainsburys was full of the stuff.

 

Doesn't make sense, and as always people look for gotchas on not complying with a simple request - stay the f*ck at home unless you really need to go out. 

 

And some people simply NEED to get out of the house for their very sanity.

If I wasn't working through all this I would be suicidal, possibly even gone through with it by now. 

I'm finding it increasingly difficult to see any end to this and all the people tut-tutting and reporting others for what are, in the great scheme of things, relatively minor infringements are really getting me and many others down, so much so I fear there will come a severe backlash when or if there is a return to any sort of normality.

Over the summer when I had days at home I would often go out walking for several hours, is that wrong as well??.

[woodenhead]

3 minutes ago, great central said:

 

And some people simply NEED to get out of the house for their very sanity.

If I wasn't working through all this I would be suicidal, possibly even gone through with it by now. 

I'm finding it increasingly difficult to see any end to this and all the people tut-tutting and reporting others for what are, in the great scheme of things, relatively minor infringements are really getting me and many others down, so much so I fear there will come a severe backlash when or if there is a return to any sort of normality.

Over the summer when I had days at home I would often go out walking for several hours, is that wrong as well??.

I don't mind people getting out of their house locally and going for a walk or doing exercise, it is people pushing it, going out to do other stuff.  I am also not in the business of tut tutting what people choose to do, but I don't want people coming on here justifying that fishing or trainspotting is something it's ok to travel out to do because it is the thin end of a wedge.

 

I have concerns for other people stuck at home for months on end in situations far from perfect.

 

We're in a dire situation, the daily deaths are now at their highest level and we need to be doing everything now to keep the infections at bay and also not force even more draconion sanctions on our abilities to do stuff.

[phil-b259]

38 minutes ago, 30801 said:

 

 

How the hell is fishing classed as exercise but going for a walk with a drink is a picnic? 

 

Because those who go fishing are usually quite well connected politically and so are able to lobby ministers / government that they are a special case. Dito those who play golf...

 

I have seen in recent weeks complaints about football teams not self isolating - but again 'Elite sports' are well connected to those in power.

 

More mundane activities (even those that might call themselves sports) generally suffer because they don't have connections in the right places.

[tigerburnie]

Angling has long been the largest participant past time and has also long been associated with mental health treatment programs. I have fished all my life and have found it to be better than anything else for relaxing the mind in fresh air. I have done a lot of sports and other outdoor pastimes, fishing is the most cathartic. I do eat some of the fish I catch, both from the sea and from fresh water. I spent a large part of my younger life raising money and awareness to clean up the filthy waterways of Britain, no-one else seemed to care if the waters were clean except anglers, along with David Bellamy we were able to convince Government and industry to clean it's act up. Society owes Anglers quite a lot,  their stewardship of the waters(lets face it we have a vested interest here) have helped Britain's waters become the better areas for bio diversity that they now are.

Edited January 14, 2021 by tigerburnie

[Markwj]

I kind of feel for the police with this one. Someone has reported a breach of lockdown rules, they have investigated and found people trainspotting which is not allowed in the current rules. As far as I can tell the trainspotters haven’t been fined just moved along which is a sensible and reasonable action. The police are damned if they do and damned if they don’t.

I would be more annoyed by the busybody who reported them!

[phil-b259]

45 minutes ago, crompton 33 said:

If there are no people around and on the end of a station platform i dont see it as a  problem .  If the station staff are fine about it so am i .  Yes i do go down to my local station . 

 

Its not about whether you 'see it as a problem', nor indeed whether it is a problem when you do it because you make sure you observe social distancing etc.... its about the message that sends out to those not as responsible as yourself!

 

Part of the reason we are in the current situation with hospitals in crisis is far to many people in the UK are bending / ignoring the guidance / rules because it gets in the way of what they want to do. Excuses abound as to why they should be exempt but others not...

 

The more simple the message the less room there is for selfish idiots to try and wiggle out of doing what needs to be done to get and keep the pandemic under control - namely....

 

Stay at home as much as possible (i,e. only go out for essential supplies or to work if you cannot work from home), only go out for exercise in your local area (expressly avoiding busy areas) and do not linger in places while doing said exercise.

 

Personally I think its a disgrace that when the NHS is under such strain the current Lockdown rules are so much loser than last time, but obviously the views of big business and various influential lobby groups is considered far more important by those in power

[beast66606]

2 minutes ago, Markwj said:

I kind of feel for the police with this one. Someone has reported a breach of lockdown rules, they have investigated and found people trainspotting which is not allowed in the current rules. As far as I can tell the trainspotters haven’t been fined just moved along which is a sensible and reasonable action. The police are damned if they do and damned if they don’t.

I would be more annoyed by the busybody who reported them!

 

Someone probably being the person who moved into one of the houses near the station and promptly started reporting people for anything they could think of - including polluting the air with CO2 by using a car.  The station is Acton Bridge. (I only know about the NIMBY from mates who live in the area, it's a bit far for me to visit these days)