Brit Mum Must Pay £2,000 For Failing To Self-Isolate After Spain Trip

Brit Mum Must Pay £2,000 For Failing To Self-Isolate After Spain Trip.

BRIT Mum from Derbyshire must pay out a staggering £2,000 for failing to self-isolate after she made a trip to Spain.

The Derbyshire mum has been forced to hand over more than £2,000 after she disregarded the requirement to self-isolate and drove 160 miles to Norfolk. Penelope James, aged 50 from Cromford Place in Fairfield, Buxton, had left home during the time she was required to be self-isolating after her trip to Spain and has now been made to pay over double the initial fine as she decided to drive her mother-in-law all the way to Norfolk.

Ms James had only been fined £1,000 to start with but she refused to pay and even told police that she would not pay it. Due to her lack of payment her case finally made it before a Derby magistrate, as she had failed to pay or indicate a plea.

Miss James had chosen to disregard the rules meaning that she needed to self-isolate at home for two weeks after she returned from a trip to Spain, and this meant that she was fined. The case was dealt with quickly and behind closed doors using the Single Justice Procedure. This is usually reserved for TV licence fines and driving matters.

PC Patrick Haley’s witness statement which was provided by the court to the Local Democracy Reporting Service explains that Derbyshire police had been called by the UK Border Force after they were unable to contact Ms James who was supposed to be at home self-isolating.

It turns out that Ms James had abandoned self-isolation as she and her partner took her mother-in-law to Norfolk. When Ms James was told that she would be issued with a ticket by PC Haley, she commented that: “Do it, I won’t pay it.”

PC Haley commented that: “I recall this clearly because I was shocked at the laissez-faire attitude towards this incident and the greater social consequences. There didn’t seem any intention to stick to the rules.”

The hearing at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates’ Court took place on March 18 but details have only just been released. At the hearing Magistrate Paul Dickerson found Miss James guilty and she has had to pay over £2,000.

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