Lewd acts, river rescues and abusive barbecuers: Police release breakdown of weekend incidents in North Yorkshire

With two National Parks and several seaside towns under their jurisdiction, North Yorkshire officers have had to deal with a disproportionate amount of poor behaviour as large groups poured into the countryside from areas such as Leeds, Bradford and Teesside.

One of the main trouble spots was Thomason Foss, near Beck Hole in the North York Moors National Park. Police have now confirmed that the 'tombstoner' airlifted to hospital after jumping from the waterfalls on Sunday was a 36-year-old man. He injured his back and was suffering from breathing difficulties after the accident, and around 29 emergency services personnel were involved in the rescue, which was made difficult by the remote location and terrain. He was taken to Hull Royal Infirmary.

Around 200 youths had gathered at the waterfalls and were dispersed by police, with some families who were behaving responsibly allowed to remain. A group who became abusive when asked to extinguish a disposable barbecue were among those told to move on.

The tombstoning incident occurred after the original dispersal activity and police returned to the scene.

National Park rangers later removed 20 bags of rubbish from the area, including clothing, towels, nappies, beer bottles, barbecues and food.

There were several other water rescues over the weekend.

Two swimmers got into difficulty in the River Derwent at Kirkham Priory, near Malton, and were treated by paramedics.

A 35-year-old man had to be rescued from the sea by the RNLI after fleeing from police when he was arrested in Scarborough on suspicion of a racially aggravated offence.

Another man was caught performing a lewd act on Scarborough beach.

At Aysgarth Falls in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, 10 fines were issued to drivers who had blocked the road and a further four to cars parked in Richmond market place.

There were 14 fines handed out for breaches of coronavirus regulations, including overnight stays in second homes and large groups gathering for public drinking sessions.

Richmond Falls was quieter after North Yorkshire Police teamed up with the Royal Military Police from Catterick Garrison and stewards employed by Richmondshire Council to patrol the river and confiscate alcohol. Several groups were dispersed.

Superintendent Charlotte Bloxham said: “This weekend has seen unprecedented numbers of visitors to local beauty spots and although people were out in numbers, the vast majority of people were acting responsibly and we thank them for their continued efforts. However, once again, there have been pockets of anti-social behaviour and other incidents that have placed demand on the emergency services. Unfortunately it’s a minority causing issues for the majority of law-abiding people.

“As more restrictions are lifted and we have more freedom to meet one another, it’s now more important than ever that we take personal responsibility and respect local communities. We all need to work together to control the virus and while the police cannot enforce social distancing guidance, we urge people to remember that although some of the restrictions have been relaxed, the virus has not gone away, you can still catch it and pass it on to your family and friends.

“The overarching aim of the police response has always been to keep people as safe as possible, and encourage them to follow the regulations, reducing the transmission of the virus to protect lives. We’ll continue to play our part and engage with members of the public, explain the regulations and encourage people to adhere to them, using enforcement as a last resort.”

There were numerous incidents involving the irresponsible use of disposable barbecues, and fire crews had to extinguish a blaze caused by two abandoned barbecues at Cod Beck Reservoir near Osmotherley in the North York Moors. Both National Park authorities have warned of the high level of fire risk following a prolonged spell of dry weather.