Coronavirus: Holiday park booking requests surge

A holiday park said it had been inundated with requests for bookings after it was announced that lockdown measures would be eased in England.

People living in England are allowed to travel for their exercise, but that is not allowed in Wales where people are restricted to staying near homes.

Laurie Clark, general manager of Golden Sands in Rhyl, said some callers did not believe the different rules.

He said the resort had had about 40 requests since Sunday's announcement.

Regulations against going on holiday or staying overnight at a holiday home or second home, however, still apply in both England and Wales.

The differences in lockdown rules between the English approach, and those of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, have already created confusion.

"It has been a mixture of caravan owners and holidaymakers getting in touch, who are confused about the statement from Boris Johnson on Sunday," Mr Clark said.

"We are surrounded by Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham catchment areas; people here assume we are going to be open.

"When we turned on our phone system on Monday morning, we were inundated from a mixture of holidaymakers enquiring if we would be open in the week, or are they able to visit their holiday homes?

"When we try to give clarity, saying the lockdown measures are different in Wales, some people were fine, some were more argumentative.

"They were saying, 'Why is this? Boris is PM for UK; why is it a different rule for Wales?'

"They didn't understand that the Welsh government were involved, or it was different in Scotland as well.

"They felt entitled to visit their holiday home, which they pay thousands for."

Mr Clark said as well as the 40 calls on Monday there were also about 30 or 40 emails.

North Wales police and crime commissioner Arfon Jones said the confusion over lockdown easing was a "total shambles" and could cause an influx of visitors to north Wales.