Five welders from Doncaster are jailed for TWO WEEKS for breaking coronavirus restrictions on the Isle of Man after buying lunch at Tesco – as their families slam ‘mind boggling’ rules
Kath Feehan – Mail Online Oct 4, 2020
Five welders from Yorkshire have been jailed for more than two months after failing to isolate upon arrival on the Isle of Man.
Island restrictions have been relaxed but anyone arriving must self isolate for 14 days in a bid to prevent a resurgence of cases.
A court heard how five men aged between 18 and 62 arrived on the island by ferry from Heysham, Lancs, on September 29.
The court heard they were due to be doing two days maintenance work on the Manx Electric Railway for Haigh Rail.
Instead of going straight from the port to their accommodation the group went to a Tesco store to buy alcohol, it was heard.
They were wearing masks but aroused suspicion after engaging in conversation with a local, who heard one say, ‘I’ve just got off the boat.’
The incident was reported to a Tesco staff member and the men were arrested by police later that night.
All five defendants, from Doncaster, South Yorks., pleaded guilty to failing to comply with Covid-19 restrictions under the Emergency Powers Act.
Appearing before magistrates via video link, they were each handed 14 days behind bars.
The family of two of those jailed have hit out at the sentences and said the men would not have broken the law had the Covid restrictions not been ‘mind-boggling’.
Helen Smith, 38, wife of Michael, 43, and mother to Jack, 18, told the Mirror: ‘They’ve been treated like serious criminals when the sensible thing was to have a word in their ear.
The message is clear: boycott Tescos because “every little bit helps…”
Tesco’s, Sainsburys, Morrisons, Waitrose and all the rest. What’s the difference? They all knew when the first shutdown was coming, and some (former employees included) say they’re all one company using different names to maintain an ILLUSION of competition.
Once this crony-virus SCAM is over – if it ever is – I’ll be avoiding them all like the plague. Small shops MAY be more expensive, but if any survive, they wouldn’t dare treat their customers the way the “big boys” have.
Twenty-six years shopping at the same branch of Tesco’s, and they dropped me the minute Bozo the Downing Street monkey got up on it’s hind legs and shut the country down for no valid reason.
They talk about “loyalty” cards and crap like that, but where’s THEIR loyalty to ME, a disabled long-term customer who depends on their delivery (dis)service?