Mountain of delivery boxes is dumped by recycling bins

Pictures showing a mountain of delivery boxes by recycling bins have been unearthed, showing that Britons are turning to online shopping during lockdown. 

The numerous piles of cardboard boxes were photographed today outside a recycling centre in Richmond, Surrey.  

Britons are now in their third week of lockdown and have seemingly turned to online shopping now that all but essential high-street shops have been closed. 

Just five days ago, the Government announced that online retail ‘is still open and encouraged’, in a potential bid to help keep the economy afloat during the pandemic. 

The fly-tipped recycling was pictured on the same day a group of women were caught having a picnic today in breach of the coronavirus lockdown, despite most Britons finding the chillier weather less enticing after a scorching Easter weekend as temperatures halved in 24 hours.

The Met Office is forecasting highs of only 13C (55F) for much of southern England today, after the mercury hit at least 25C (77F) in London on Saturday and Sunday as the country enjoyed the hottest weather of the year so far.

But it did not stop the group of five women sitting down to have their lunch at Primrose Hill in North London this afternoon, with Camden Council workers forced to intervene – while benches on the South Bank were taped off.

Councils have taped off benches and outdoor gyms in parts of London to discourage people going outside for anything other than exercise or essential shopping, while police have done so in parks such as Kennington Park. 

Beaches and parks were largely deserted for most of the Easter weekend, with popular bank holiday hotspots and motorways almost empty, as police praised people for shunning the sun and staying at home .

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said yesterday that the future path of the pandemic would be ‘determined by how people act’, adding: ‘I’m really glad that at the moment the British people this weekend are doing their bit.’

And Mr Hancock reiterated the importance of complying with lockdown regulations as he wished the nation a Happy Easter. He posted a video on Twitter urging people to continue following the social distancing rules. 

However, it comes as two teenagers were charged with assaulting a Metropolitan Police officer and breaching coronavirus rules on public gatherings on a residential street in Brixton, South London, on Friday. 

A 17-year-old boy was charged with criminal damage, assault on an emergency worker and obstructing a police constable. Jamar Jackman, 19, of Brixton was also charged with two counts of assault on an emergency worker and one count of obstructing a police constable.

Both teenagers were later charged with contravening a requirement to not participate in a gathering in public of more than two people. They were remanded into custody to appear at Croydon Magistrates’ Court today.

And in Birmingham, a dog walker condemned a group of men who defied coronavirus lockdown rules to play football on a tennis court at Gilbertstone Park in the Yardley area of the city on Saturday afternoon.

He claimed the group were up close and tackling each other – ignoring social distancing – and said he called West Midlands Police when he returned home.

He said: ‘I was disgusted when I saw them. These weren’t young kids but men aged between 20 and around 40. They should have known better. There were at least 20 of them. They were inside the tennis courts playing football, getting close and tackling. It is just unbelievable how selfish some people can be.  

‘There were groups of people sitting on the grass together too. I haven’t seen police on the park at all. They need to go and break these groups up and fine them. When I got home I rang police to tell them. 

‘I have been told this group have met up before at the same time – it’s become like a regular game of footie meet-up. It’s just beyond belief how stupid and selfish some people are.’

West Midlands Police have so far issued 17 fixed penalty notices to people who refused to heed police requests to disperse as part of the lockdown.

Photographs yesterday showed Britons being moved away from beaches after being caught sunbathing or having social gatherings, while others struggled to keep their two metre distance on some seafronts and canal paths.