Two men in court charged with breaking Covid-19 lockdown laws in Northants village

Two men are due to appear at Northampton Magistrates Court today (Wednesday April 8) after being charged with breaking Covid-19 restrictions.

The pair, both 26 and from Northampton, were arrested after being seen acting suspiciously near a mower shop ten miles away in West Haddon

Officers challenged Ross Simms, of Bird Lake, Billing, and Zakary Terrance Hamill, 26, of Warren Road, Dallington, and arrested them when they were unable to provide any valid reason for being there.

Simms has also been charged with driving without insurance.

These are believed to be the first arrests in Northamptonshire under the Government restrictions which came into force last month.

Since then, people should only leave home for four specific reasons: shopping for food and other necessities; to exercise once a day; for medical issues and travel to and from work.

Jamie Tidy, 31, formerly of Farmfields Court, Northampton, was remanded in custody last month after charged with assaulting an emergency worker after allegedly spitting at a police officer trying to arrest him.

And last week a Northamptonshire man claiming to have coronavirus was charged after spitting in a police officer’s face during a call-out to a domestic abuse incident.

The unnamed officer, who is the sole carer for his elderly mother who has cancer, has been taken off duty and will be continuing to self-isolate for another seven days.