eBay Buyer Stopped by Police During Coronavirus Stay at Home Lockdown For Picking Up Order

Last week Prime Minister Boris Johnson issued a Stay at Home (Lockdown) order trying to slow down the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in the U.K.

The U.K’s Stay at Home order is similar to Shelter in Place orders many U.S. states and communities have passed in the U.S., effectively banning all unnecessary travel and movement.

“From this evening I must give the British people a very simple instruction — you must stay at home. Because the critical thing we must do is stop the disease spreading between households. People will only be allowed to leave their home for the following very limited purposes.”

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson

But There is Always One!

On Sunday, the U.K’s North West Motorway Police (Highway Patrol) stopped a man from the Greater Manchester area on the M6 motorway, a major highway in the U.K., to find out why he was out.

The driver admitted he was on his way home from a 224-mile round after picking up £15 ($19) windows he purchased off eBay. That by itself was already bizarre as the police had been doing spot checks on motorists for days, but it gets better!

Upon further inspection, police found that his wife was traveling in the trunk of the car as the man said she could no longer fit into the passenger area of the vehicle.

A driver has travelled from Coventry to Salford to collect a £15 EBay purchase of windows. His wife could not fit in the vehicle so she was travelling in the boot for the return journey when stopped on the M6 Cheshire. The driver was given a TOR for the offence.
— North West Motorway Police (@NWmwaypolice) March 29, 2020

The Motorway Police said the officer issued the man a TOR (Traffic Offence Report) which is equivalent to a traffic citation in the U.S., which if convicted could lead to a fine or community service

He was allowed to drive home, but there is no word if the wife had to finish out the trip in the trunk.