A group of volunteers who spent their Saturday afternoon giving Ventnor Football Club a spruce up have been fined £100 each after they claim a disgruntled dog walker reported them to the authorities.
With no Saturday action on the pitch, volunteers decided to make use of their time by picking up a paint brush to redecorate part of the clubhouse.
However, the gesture of goodwill has cost each of them £100 after the Police were called by a concerned member of the public.
Although socially distanced – with 6 people in a 200sqm building – and undertaking volunteering, Police have said that the work being carried out was not essential maintenance and therefore does not qualify as being permitted under the coronavirus regulations.
Taking to social media, one of the group has said:
“If you walk your dog up Ventnor Football Club and think it’s okay to report people that are volunteering their free time to paint the football club to the police, please never walk your dog up there again!”
The fines are expected to be appealed but in the meantime a Go Fund Me fundraiser has been created to help the 6 pay their fines totalling £600. If their appeal is successful, the money will be donated to the club instead. You can find the fundraiser at https://www.gofundme.com/f/ventnor-football-club.
Earlier today Island Echo reported that Police were moving along Islanders enjoying the sunshine in Shanklin.
UPDATE MONDAY – The fines against the 6 individuals have been officially dropped. Read more at https://www.islandecho.co.uk/police-drop-fines-against-group-painting-at-ventnor-football-club/.
Sick and tired of the small minded miserable people that live here. Get a life!
This is SOOOOOOOOOO stupid. I hope that dog walker is feeling ashamed of themselves right now. The police are getting powered crazed I feel, telling people in Shanklin not to stop and eat ice cream and now this. Ludicrous in the extreme.
Yea . Come on Police. Ok so they broke the rules. All you had to do was remind them of this, tell them to clear up and go home. £100 fine. If they had come back or been abusive, fair enough. There’s no consistency. Were the ice cream eaters fined?
On my walk just before lunch there were two family’s on the beach having a picnic. ??? Please stick to the rules were not home and dry yet
Beyond belief. No words!
The police are over stepping their authority. Go and fine all the chavs out on skateboards in the hover craft car park and riding the wrong way against the traffic along Ryde esplanade and crack heads bawling and shouting at each other in the town.
No money in fining chavs.
no money full stop the council took it all
No exactly R so to my mind ordinary people are being victimized and the chavs are being encouraged to break the law by the law not acting.
I’m getting fed up with all the “go fund me” appeals.
Well said simon – most are just sponging chancers
I’m fed up with nosey-dog walkers and Police who forget about how society needs to live during this pandemic.
Camera now installed by castle be warned
fine these people but do nothing about the people selling drugs from the crown pub in ryde what a freaking joke
Was the dog walker a Wroxall FC fan?
I wouldn’t pay the made up fine.. okay lads but you’ve got to leave, no instead let’s make some money out of these young men. Good old policing at it’s best.
Just refuse to pay them, they are unlawful and abs ridiculous anyway.
Remember people you can have ice cream down the beach but you can’t paint COVID knows the difference and will get you
Island echo, why have the posts about fining holiday makers been taken down.
tourist board influence?
Yeah, that and somebody else!
Isn’t this called work, Special constables have been working I’m sure and thier services are notnecessarily essential… fine them too.
Don’t pay the fines, they will get thrown out of court, not lawful. 250+ arrests over covid,not one conviction! Unlawful.
Typical nosey interfering islanders. Covid will always be around, so stop the stupidity and abolish lockdown. If you are that worried then continue with the ridiculous lockdown yourselves
Exactly, Everyone needs to stop acting so stupid and carry on as normal as I do. Sick of all this crap by closing shops and gyms which they think are “non essential”. Yes they are essential. What gives them the right to decide what’s essential and what isn’t as some things are essential to some people and not others. Boris can go and F off.
Maybe the police should go to the ferry terminals and stop the visitors coming over and hand out a fine to the ferry companies
I thought Police policy was to “communicate and re-educate”, not “criminalise and alienate”?
Perhaps our highly-paid but utterly invisible Police and Crime Commissioner would care to tell us what guidance he has issued?
Mr or Mrs dog walker should get a life and do some volunteering instead of criticising others doing a great job for the community.
Wow ? I’ve just comes and pasted from the G O V website….
Where and when you can meet in larger groups
There are still circumstances in which you are allowed to meet others from outside your household, childcare or support bubble in larger groups, but this should not be for socialising and only for permitted purposes. A full list of these circumstances will be included in the regulations, and includes:
for work, or providing voluntary or charitable services, where it is unreasonable to do so from home.
Where and when you can meet in larger groups
There are still circumstances in which you are allowed to meet others from outside your household, childcare or support bubble in larger groups, but this should not be for socialising and only for permitted purposes. A full list of these circumstances will be included in the regulations, and includes:
for work, or providing voluntary or charitable services, where it is unreasonable to do so from home.
post this on the police facebook page and re-educate them
i dont have face book or id do it.
That’s how I read it,can’t find anything that stipulates what sort of voluntary work
Sad sad person, they need to get a life and stop interfering in others lives. Plus fining people is BULLYING by jobsworth idiots
After World War 2 in France, snitches /collaborators had their heads shaved and were paraded through the streets. …just saying!
Never stand up in court, keeping their distance and exercising with a paint brush is not an offence. Have all Police gone power crazy. What happened to common sense. The dog walker was not essential either.
All fines that have been issued have been found to be unlawful. How small minded are the police?
Reminiscent of Nazi Germany
I am disgusted with the dog walkers who throw their poo bags in hedges or just leave them on the beach walls. Dirty peasants. Shanklin beach is full of the stuff like else were on the island. Bring back paid dog wardens. The council has the money.
I hope the same dog walker is going to inform the Police that the ferry companies have been breaking the lockdown rules allowing Holiday makers over here on their ferries and get them fined £100 for every person/vehicle carried to the island?
What law have the ferry companies broken…there are no laws relating to covid!!
Not one single prosecution brought through courts as of 12.48 on 1st march.
Strange that huh??!!!
I said lockdown rules not law, but I do accept where you are coming from. It needed Policing at The mainland ports and those breaking the rules issued with the £100 penalty and turned away.
This type of action is probably why the Isle of Wight now has one of the lowest infection rates in the UK now. Keep it up and keep us safe.
Yet mums get to have pick nicks in the playgrounds whilst mixing freely with many other households.