Ten tourists who drove more than 200 miles from London to Snowdonia are sent home by police 

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Ten hikers from London who drove 245 miles to Snowdonia were forced to turn around and head home after being stopped by police.

The group had driven five hours in two vehicles when they were stopped near their destination on the A5 in Bethesda, North Wales.

They told officers they wanted to go walking in the mountainous National Park.

Instead, the North Wales Police officers escorted their cars to the A-road back to the south so they could begin the ten-hour round trip home.

The force tweeted: ‘A group of 10 stopped in 2 vehicles on A5 #Bethesda earlier, having travelled from London with the intent of going for a walk in Snowdonia. 

‘Told to return home immediately and escorted back to the A55. Reported for breaching #COVID19 legislation.’ 

In a second incident dealt with by police, staff from a hotel challenged a man ‘who though the regulations did not apply to him’ when they saw him returning to his car after a hike.

He had driven 180 miles from Cumbria to walk up Mount Snowdon at 6am. North Wales police said: ‘He was abusive to the informant when challenged and clearly thought the regulations did not apply to him.

‘Police were called and he was stopped on the eastbound carriageway of the A55 by one of our armed response team who reported him for breaching the legislation.

‘We despair – we really do.’   

The incidents came amid a widespread increase in foot and motor traffic on another sunny day across much of the country. 

Data from Apple Maps yesterday showed that driving is up 4 per cent and walking has increased 5 per cent among Britons compared to last week. 

Officers in Merthyr Tydfil found a couple who had travelled nearly 150 miles from Leicester to pick up a rug.

In the Brecon Beacons, police stopped people who had driven from Birmingham and Hereford, and two hikers from Bristol who were attempting to walk Pen Y Fan were issued with fixed penalty notices by police.

In Pembrokeshire, a driver on a 60-mile round trip to buy tomato plants was reported for non-essential travel.

While another driver was stopped at Begelly and issued with a ticket as they were ‘looking to get a coffee’. Police said it was not the first time this motorist had been reported. 

Two people who had travelled from Birmingham for a ‘day out’ to Broadway Tower in the Cotswolds were issued with fixed penalty notices.

While in nearby Bibury, officers issued nine tickets to people visiting from Leicester and London. 

It comes a week after an angry local confronted a couple who drove 180 miles to rent an Airbnb.

The man in Snowdownia, Wales, slammed the pair and accused them of breaking coronavirus lockdown rules – but the venue’s landlady claimed the couple were made homeless by the pandemic. 

The Government has ordered people to stay in their primary residence as the crisis continues. 

Across Britain, shoppers took advantage of hot an dry conditions yesterday – although wet weather is on the way. 

Hundreds of people also enjoyed the sun in beaches and parks across the country, with people pictured being told by police to move on in Greenwich Park, Richmond Park and St James’s Park in London.

Bakers Greggs said they are planning to open a small number of stores after fast food chain McDonald’s announced they wish to re-open in May and KFC and Burger King already opened a handful of branches.  

On Sunday, some DIY shoppers pushed trolleys filled with rolls of carpet while others were seen lifting enormous products into their cars.

Many had to wait in enormous queues as B&Q enforced social distancing rules. 

Some wore masks and made sure they kept apart from others so as not to risk spreading coronavirus. 

In Greenwich Park, officers drove up to people sunbathing to remind them of rules ordering people to stay home except for essential exercise, to buy food or to go to a place of work if they cannot work from home.

Elsewhere, cyclists and walkers flocked along pavements and beach fronts as the sun came out.  

Latest figures released by Public Health England on Sunday showed that another 413 people have died from the virus – the lowest figure this month. 

It means that just over 20,000 people have died since the outbreak began and there have been more than 148,000 cases overall. 

But data from Apple Maps showed that traffic congestion has surged from the start of the month and since the lockdown was announced.   

Walking in London has picked up markedly in the last three days alone, according to Apple Map’s most recent ‘Covid-19 mobility trends’ data. 

It appears there has been a sharp increase in human traffic as the number of people walking across the country rose by around 8 percentage points on April 23 from last Saturday. 

The number of people walking, driving, and using public transport networks in the UK took a nosedive in early March, as concern about the spreading coronavirus outside of China – believed to be the country of its origin – intensified and gripped the nation. It plummeted on March 24 – the day after Boris Johnson declared a ‘stay-at-home’ order.

But newly released figures available on Apple Maps indicated the British public are growing restless of life under lockdown as many more take to the roads and the streets. 

Each weekend of April – between the 4th and the 18th – the number of people walking, driving, and ‘transiting’ steadily climbed, even as police forces across the country became tougher on rule-breakers. 

Data from sat nav makers TomTom and the AA suggest there has been an increase in car trips around the UK this month. 

There are more motorists in London, Brighton and Hove, Bristol, Manchester, and Reading out and about this weekend than last week, according to TomTom.   

B&Q is following steps taken by supermarkets by limiting the number of customers in its stores at any one time. 

It has also installed screens at checkouts and put markers on shop floors to help with social distancing. 

Cafes have been told by the Government they can start re-opening for business, while McDonald’s said they are hoping to re-open in May.   

Representatives from the biggest chains, including Costa, Pret a Manger and McDonalds, had asked Environment Secretary George Eustice if they were allowed to start opening up some of their branches again.

And it is understood they were told: ‘You didn’t have to shut in the first place.’

The chains explained that it had been unclear from the rules whether they were entitled to stay open. They were also worried about the safety of their staff, and about a negative reaction from the public to their continuing to trade.

On Sunday, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab blasted ‘irresponsible’ critics for demanding the UK government set out how it will ease the nation’s coronavirus lockdown.  

Tory donors, Cabinet ministers and Sir Keir Starmer have all told Boris Johnson he must publish his strategy for loosening restrictions as the Prime Minister prepares to return to work.