Sussex Police issued a further 258 Covid fines over the weekend as thousands of people flocked to the county to soak up the sun. New data from the National Police Chiefs Council also shows that 1,618 Covid fines were handed out by the force between March 27 last year and February 14. This shows there have been plenty of people willing to push the limits of lockdown laws to meet with others or travel around the country. But some have had the gall to try and talk their way out of a fine after being caught flouting the rules by police.
Here are some of the strangest excuses officers have heard over the last few months:
Plain clothed officers stopped the youths behaving suspiciously in Eastbourne town centre. They reportedly became aggressive and assaulted police on Saturday at around 2.30pm Wraps of a substance suspected to be cocaine were seized during the incident. The two males, both aged 17, were arrested and charged with assaulting an emergency worker and being concerned in the supply of cocaine. They are due to appear at Brighton Magistrates Court on Monday March 1. The arrest was part of a force wide day of action to tackle knife crime, violence and wider criminality as part of Operation Safety. Sergeant Elizabeth Reschwamm, co-ordinator for Operation Safety, said: Dangerous items such as weapons and drugs have no place on our streets and we work tirelessly to remove them and keep local communities safe.
Naomi Rosenberg, 40, broke into The Sidewinder in Upper St James’s Street, Kemp Town. She stole £120 in cash and a £750 iPad during the raid. In a separate break-in she stole alcohol worth £30. The thief was previously jailed over breaking in to the Fountain Head pub in North Laine, Brighton in 2019. She has battled drug addiction and tried to get her life back on track. But in late October and November last year she went into The Sidewinder which was forced to close because of the coronavirus lockdown. Brighton Magistrates’ Court also heard how Rosenberg stole wine from the Co-op in Western Road, Hove, worth £13 in a separate incident.
Kevin Docherty Hume was on the bus between Clarence Square in Brighton and Palmeira Square in Hove. He assaulted two men, and shouted abuse likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress on board. Brighton Magistrates’ Court heard how the abuse was homophobic. The 50-year-old was jailed for 22 weeks, and the sentence was praised by Brighton and Hove Buses boss Martin Harris. Mr Harris said Hume is now banned from buses in Brighton and Hove because of his aggressive behaviour and hate speech.
Palmeira Square in Hove The court was also told that Hume had left a man fearing violence during a separate incident in Bolton Road, Eastbourne.