Transport police apologise after officer asks to meet Ant and Dec in North Wales during lockdown
British Transport Police (BTP) has apologised after one of its officers in North Wales sent a request to meet with Ant and Dec during lockdown.
The PCSO used Twitter to ask whether the Geordie duo would like to meet with the team responsible for patrolling Abergele and Pensarn railway station due to its proximity to this year’s I’m A Celebrity filming location at Gwyrch Castle.
It came despite officers recently urging people not to go out without a valid excuse during the current firebreak lockdown in Wales.
The same team attracted a backlash just days earlier after sharing a picture of their officers quizzing a train passenger on the purpose of their journey during a spot-check.
It led to a defence of their actions being posted on Twitter in which the team accused lockdown breakers of acting “selfishly”.
BTP acknowledged the tweet to Ant and Dec was inappropriate in light of the restrictions and said it had since been deleted.
A spokesperson told North.Wales: “We apologise for a tweet posted on one of our force accounts which has since been removed.
“The current restrictions in Wales are clear and we acknowledge that this particular tweet was inappropriate and misjudged.”
Right folks – the last tweet generated a fair amount of comment so let's put a few things straight:
– Wales is on lockdown. You should not be out without a reasonable excuse.
– It is our job to enforce the current regulations. We did this throughout the previous lockdown too.
— BTP North Wales (@BTPNorthWales) October 24, 2020
– Only those who think the rules don't apply to them & selfishly break them, need to be worried about being spoken to by us.
We want this virus to go away as much as everyone else. We all need to do our bit to achieve that.
— BTP North Wales (@BTPNorthWales) October 24, 2020
Main image of station adapted from picture taken by David Dixon
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