Yorkshire woman fined £660 for loitering at train station in breach of lockdown rules

A York woman became the first person to be arrested on the railways for breaching the new coronavirus lockdown rules - until the charge was later set aside.

Marie Dinou, 41, from York, was found "loitering between platforms" at Newcastle Central Station at around 8am on Saturday as she apparently tried to travel, British Transport Police (BTP) said.

She would not explain to police why she needed to travel or give her name, and was arrested on suspicion of breaking restrictions imposed under the Coronavirus Act 2020.

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Dinou appeared at North Tyneside Magistrates' Court on Monday and was fined £660 for breaching the pandemic rules, a member of court staff said.

Police arrested the woman for breaching lockdown rulesPolice arrested the woman for breaching lockdown rules
Police arrested the woman for breaching lockdown rules

She was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £66, and costs of £85.

UPDATE: The woman's conviction has now been set aside after it was discovered that police used the wrong section of the Act to charge her.

Police and the Crown Prosecution Service have set aside a woman's conviction under coronavirus lockdown laws after it was found that she had been charged under the wrong section of the legislation. British Transport Police said in a statement that they would not pursue a fresh conviction.

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Deputy Chief Constable Adrian Hanstock said “There will be understandable concern that our interpretation of this new legislation has resulted in an ineffective prosecution.

“This was in circumstances where officers were properly dealing with someone who was behaving suspiciously in the station, and who staff believed to be travelling without a valid ticket. Officers were rightfully challenging her unnecessary travel.

“Regardless, we fully accept that this shouldn’t have happened and we apologise. It is highly unusual that a case can pass through a number of controls in the criminal justice process and fail in this way."

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