Oakenshaw hairdresser flouting lockdown rules failed to show up at court

Sinead Quinn, who owns Quinn Blakey Hairdressers in Oakenshaw, was repeatedly reprimanded for remaining open throughout the ongoing lockdown.

Despite racking up tens of thousands in fines, her salon was once again found to be doing business on Friday (Nov 27), which is when Kirklees Council summoned her to court.

The authority issued a closure notice and applied for an order directing her to shut, which was granted at Bradford and Keighley Magistrates Court yesterday afternoon.

Ms Quinn failed to turn up at court and the trial took place in her absence.

The order is in place with immediate effect and lasts until midnight next Tuesday, when the national restrictions end and West Yorkshire moves into Tier 3 lockdown.

Rebecca Todd, chair of the bench at Bradford and Keighley Magistrates Court granted the order, saying the defendant's behaviour was "causing people distress at an already stressful and disturbing time".

Quinn had previously placed a sign quoting the Magna Carta on her shopfront while continuing to do business by allowing clients into the salon and cutting their hair.

The paper, signed and dated November 5, said: "Notice: I do not consent.

"This business stands under the jurisdiction of common law. As the business owners, we are exercising our rights to earn a living.

"I am not under any obligation, nor will I, answer any questions or give you any details. I am a living person and statutory regulations only apply with my consent."

She was initially faced a fine of £4,000 for repeated breaches.

But council officers visited her shop on two subsequent occasions and issued further £10,000 fines after finding it was still open and trading.

The salon had previously been slapped with a fines of £1,000 and £2,000 for defying government orders to close from November 5 in the face of rising Covid-19 cases.

During earlier visits by authorities she told them she did not 'consent' to coronavirus closure laws and was hit with on the spot fines for breaching the regulations.

Earlier this month, Ms Quinn posted videos on Instagram showing her arguing with council officials who had visited her salon to see if it was complying with the rules.

In one video she told officials that she did not 'consent' to being fine and cited 'common law'.

Kirklees has among the highest coronavirus infection rates in England with a rate of 446.4 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days to November 19.

Speaking in court, Tahir Hanif, prosecuting on behalf of Kirklees Council, said: "On a number of occasions, the owner of this premises Sinead Quinn opened her premises for customers and when enforcement officers attended they observed customers being engaged in services offered and inside the shop.

"When asked to open the door to have a discussion, Ms Quinn refused, and mentioned the Magna Carta and that this legislation does not apply to her, and that she does not consent to abide by this legislation."

Mr Hanif said the shop had been observed to be open on November 9, 12, 13 an 14, and fixed penalty notices were issued but that these fines were "no hindrance to her behaviour".

He said: "It was a simple disregard of the notices."

Judith Stones, manager of infectious diseases at Kirklees Council, added: "We received numerous complaints from the public about the premises being open, and we have to ensure restrictions are followed.

"We had 20 different complainants who were distressed about it, especially with the incredibly high infection rate in Kirklees. The public are very concerned about their health and the health of others.

"A lot of other people in the industry have closed, and we need to do everything we can to get the virus under control. We are supposed to stay at home except for permitted reasons; a haircut is not one of those reasons."