A MAN caught flouting lockdown rules during the coronavirus crisis has appeared at court.
Anthony McDonagh appeared at Oxford Magistrates’ Court on Thursday charged with breaching regulations now in force under new Covid-19 legislation.
The 22-year-old of Blagrave Close, Didcot pleaded guilty to one count of being ‘found in a vehicle with two people not in the same household.’
Under the current lockdown ‘group gatherings’ have been banned except for when people live together or that the circumstances are essential for work purposes.
Outlining the case at court prosecutor Peter Ryman said that McDonagh, together with others, went to the John Radcliffe Hospital at about 2.30am on Wednesday.
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He was turned away by staff there, prosecutors said, and it was when he returned to the hospital, having been with two others in a car, that he was arrested by police.
He was then brought to the Oxford court for an alleged breach of bail conditions, which was not proceeded with.
Referring to his court appearance for the breach of lockdown rules Mr Ryman said: “This would have been the last resort.”
McDonagh’s defence solicitor David Hicks said that the other two people who were in the car with his client were both handed fixed penalty notices by the police.
Sentencing, District Judge Kamlesh Rana said: “I give you credit for your guilty plea.
“You must understand that these regulations must be strictly enforced while they are [in effect.]
“They can save everybody’s lives and the stress that can be put potentially on the NHS.”
McDonagh was handed a £100 fine for the single offence, which was ordered to have been served by way of one day already spent in prison.
He was also ordered to pay a statutory victim surcharge of £32.
Under current government guidance during the lockdown people are only permitted to leave the house for limited reasons.
These include shopping for basic necessities, one form of exercise a day, any medical need, and travelling for work purposes
When doing these activities, the government says you should stay two metres apart from anyone outside of your household.
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