Man fined after being found guilty of breaching Coronavirus guidelines

A man from Stroud appeared at court last week where he was fined after being found guilty of breaching Coronavirus guidelines.

Ryan Grist, 35 and of Sherwood Road in Tetbury appeared at Cheltenham Magistrates Court on Saturday (17 October) where he was found guilty of leaving the place where you are living without reasonable excuse during a Coronavirus emergency period and ordered to pay £233 as well as a surcharge of £34 and court costs of £85.

On 26 April, Police Community Support Officer Gary Lynch from the Stroud Neighbourhood Policing Team spoke to the man who was found to be riding a quad bike in the woods at Whiteshill near Stroud. 

Grist stated that he had brought his quad bike to the location from another area of the county and that it was his form of daily exercise. 

PCSO Lynch engaged with the man who then stated that the virus was not real before becoming abusive. He was given a £30 fine for breaching Coronavirus guidelines however this was not paid and he was later summonsed to court.

Sergeant Garrett Gloyn said: "This behaviour from Grist took place during a time when the nation was on lockdown with residents being urged to stay at home.

"We tried to use the 4Es approach of engaging, explaining and encouraging before resorting to enforcement action but on this occasion Mr Grist was knowingly flouting the laws and putting lives at risk.

"Where a breach of the regulations is clear and the person breaching them is aware that they are not complying then we will intervene and use our police powers if required.

"While the vast majority of people in the county are complying with guidelines, we must all take personal responsibility to help prevent the spread of the virus and I want to congratulate PCSO Lynch for his diligence and courage in tackling this man."