Northerners not welcome: Cornwall tourist bosses tell holiday-makers from tier 3 to stay away

‘Do not travel here if you live in a high-risk area,’ warns council leader ahead of half term

Not for northerners: Cornish coast (Getty Images)

Tourism bosses in Cornwall have told northerners hoping to visit this half term to stay away for fear they will spread coronavirus around the south-west.

Officials and councillors in the county have urged hotels, B&Bs, guest houses and caravan parks to refuse anyone they suspect of coming from tier two or three areas - where extra restrictions have been imposed because infection rates are so high.

That includes huge swathes of the north, as well as Birmingham and London.

Julian German, ledare of Cornwall Council, said: “I am not willing to undo the fantastic work of our public health team in keeping our residents safe, and that is why I am asking those who visit us to follow the rules.”

And, in the bluntest of warnings, he added: “Do not travel to Cornwall if you live in a high-risk area.”

He spoke days after weekly figures showed Cornwall had the lowest infection rates in the country with just 26.2 cases per 100,000 people.

Crucially, that is a number which, week on week, had actually fallen.

But Councillor Bell said: “We know from other areas of the country how quickly the picture can change.”

He added: “It is not easy, especially after such a difficult year, to ask any business to turn trade away, but these are exceptional circumstances and we are asking everyone to work with us to keep Cornwall safe.”

Hie message was echoed by Malcolm Bell, chief executive of Visit Cornwall, who said in a statement: “We all need to play our part in limiting the spread and intensity of the Covid 19 crisis by reinforcing the government guidance for areas with high level and high restriction.”

Although government guidelines state that travel should not be undertaken by anyone in a tier three area, it is not against the law for them to do so.