East Sussex hairdresser visited people’s homes after testing positive for Covid-19

Following his positive test, the man – who police have not named – should have been self isolating.

Instead, he visited people’s homes in Hastings to cut and style their hair.

Police confirmed the incident on Tuesday (January 12) and said he was one of 45 people who were issued with fines for breaching the government’s Covid-19 regulations during the first weekend of the third national lockdown.

Police said officers were patrolling areas and communities at the weekend, engaging with the public and urging people to do the right thing by following the restrictions; which are in place to save lives and protect the NHS.

Police referenced the Hastings hairdresser and a man from Surrey as two people who were fined for breaching the rules.

In that second incident, police said a driver from Surrey, who when stopped by officers for speeding, claimed he was rushing to deal with an alarm which was going off at his business in Brighton, yet could not give any legitimate details of the premises or an address for it, which police said meant he did not have a reasonable excuse for making an essential journey.

Superintendent Julia Pope said: “We know this is an extremely difficult time for everyone, however the actions we take and the decisions we make now can help save lives.

“This pandemic has been ongoing for almost a year now, and so we are all familiar with what we should be doing to play our part in stopping the spread of the virus.

“We know the overwhelming majority of people in Sussex are doing the right thing by staying home, wearing masks and social distancing, but unfortunately a small minority of people continue to ignore the rules.

“The restrictions are in place for a reason – any unnecessary contact had with someone is a potential link to a vulnerable person. Everyone has a responsibility to make the right decisions. It is disappointing that our officers have to take this enforcement action again this weekend against those who are still blatantly breaching the rules as if they do not apply to them.

“It’s so important, now as much as ever, that we pull together and do what we need to do to protect our NHS and our communities from the virus.”