Italian Police Swarm Around Man Sunbathing On Deserted Beach

Police in Italy used drones to find a man breaching lockdown rules by sunbathing on a beach, before arriving on quad bikes to issue him with a fine.

A clip shared by the police in Rimini, on the east coast of Italy, has shown the lengths cops will go to to ensure people are following lockdown measures.

In the clip police can be seen flying a drone across the deserted beach before focusing on a man who is lying out in the sun. Two officers on quad bikes then approach the lone sunbather who was reportedly whacked with a fine.

The drone then follows the two quad bikes and the cop car as they drive off.

Later in the clip the drones are used to scope out parks to check for anyone ignoring the rules.

The clip has had a mixed response with some people praising the police for taking the lockdown measures seriously, but others have criticised the heavy-handed response with one calling it 'unnecessary'.

Italy has some of the strictest lockdown measures in Europe - but it seems not everyone is following them. According to the Italian Interior Ministry, last weekend alone 17,500 people were reported for not complying with the rules.

Comune di Rimini

The footage has been shared as Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has confirmed that some lockdown measures will be eased on 4 May.

On a post on Facebook, Conte said: "Many citizens are tired of the efforts that have been made so far and would like a significant loosening of these measures, or even their total abolition.

"I would like to be able to say, let's open everything. Right away. But such a decision would be irresponsible. It would make the contagion curve rise uncontrollably and would jeopardise all the efforts that we have made until now."

He continued: "We have to reopen on the basis of policy that takes into consideration all the details and cuts across all the data. A serious policy, scientific. A reasonable expectation is that we will apply it from May 4."

As yet, Conte has not announced how the restrictions will be lifted, but has said officials will be taking into account different regional circumstances to ensure the safest outcome.

Italy has had 181,228 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, with an official death toll of 24,114 - making it the second worst hit country, after the US.

Topics: World News, Coronavirus

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at LADbible who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats. You can contact Claire at [email protected]

@ClaireReid19