Coronavirus lockdown: police stop man playing Pokémon Go in Bicester

Police were out in Bicester cracking down on non-essential journeys by asking drivers where they were going.

As part of the lockdown, Boris Johnson has ordered people to only leave their homes under a list of ‘very limited purposes’ like getting to work if they have to or going shopping for vital supplies.

But the shops shut at 4pm on Sunday, as they have done for years, so several people were left without a reasonable excuse when four officers confronted them on a quiet backroad.

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Others who were stopped had some unbelievable excuses like one man who was traveling from London to meet his friend in Bicester – despite strict rules stopping citizens from meeting anybody outside of their homes.

Another man was on his way to complete a business deal but had his partner in the passenger seat because she wanted to get out of the house.

Two other lads had driven to Birmingham from Bicester to ride their BMXs at a skate park there.

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Others said that they didn’t want to walk their dog in the local park because it was either too busy or too far.

A bunch of people said they were going to the shops but only to get one or two items and three other drivers said they were on their way to get fuel, topping up for an essential journey today.

But they couldn’t explain to PCs Cross, Hersom, Livingston, and Donoghue why they needed to go at that specific time – other than to get out of the house.

Under new rules, people driving aimlessly without a good excuse can be fined by the police.

Ironically, the ticket books for the new legislation haven’t arrived yet so police officers were using the ‘practice run’ to raise awareness, educate and collect data on reasons for travel.

In the end, they stopped at least 30 people who could have been given a ticket under the new coronavirus act.