A British council has declared a “major incident” after thousands of punters flocked to the seaside, flaunting social distancing guidelines and generally causing havoc in the region.
BBC reports Bournemouth Beach on England’s south coast was inundated this week, with folks looking to get some rays on one of the hottest days of the year.
With temperatures nudging north of 30 degrees Celcius, it makes sense a few Brits would lose their minds from the heat.
But the Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole Council had jack of it, saying that visitors had caused traffic chaos, left mountains of rubbish on the shore, and, you know, didn’t even pretend to acknowledge there’s a coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic going on.
Check out some footage for yourself:
A “major incident” has been declared around the southern English coastal town of Bournemouth, as thousands of people defied coronavirus social distancing rules and flocked to local beaches on the hottest day of the year so far. https://t.co/akDp2nG0RR pic.twitter.com/rz5qLG5iwD
— ABC News (@ABC) June 25, 2020
#Bournemouth beach today.
People are c***s 😡😡😡 pic.twitter.com/MwB0p0VH7w
— Mathew (@mathewthurgood) June 24, 2020
MP Tobias Ellwood said the situation was “not just irresponsible but dangerous.
“We’ve made such progress tackling this pandemic. I’d hate to see Bournemouth be the one place in Britain that gets that second spike.”
Dorset Police reported fights and gridlocked roads in the region, apparently caused by numpties surging towards the shore. Authorities state overnight campers also appear to be an issue in the region.
Ellwood said that local police can’t cope with the influx of visitors, saying “the government needs to offer assistance and respond to this dangerous event.”
Shockingly, The Guardian reports there were half-hour lines at ice cream stalls.
Yesterday, top British health authorities said the nation was at risk of a second coronavirus wave if people continue to ignore social distancing rules and carelessly congregate in large numbers.
