A DARLINGTON woman who was accused of breaking Covid-19 rules during the tiered restrictions last March has had all the charges against her dropped.

Magistrates sitting at Peterlee earlier today (February 24) gave Sarah Appleton, of Harry Street, Darlington, a complete discharge after hearing that she had participated in a gathering of two or more people in a house on Chandos Street, Darlington, on March 19, 2021.

Despite the gathering taking place when the borough was under tier 4 covid restrictions, which banned households from mixing with only support bubbles and those meeting for childcare being exempt, the court cleared the 38-year-old of any wrongdoing.

Read more: Darlington woman attended banned Covid gathering

The court heard that the Darlington resident had previously pleaded guilty to the offences at a separate court date in Sunderland on Tuesday, February 1, and had been charged after she failed to provide reasonable explanation for attending the gathering.

The judgement from the court came on the same day that Prime Minister Boris Johnson ditched domestic legal restrictions connected to Covid-19 – termed the ‘living with Covid’ plan.

This includes the legal requirement to self-isolate and contact tracing. From April 1, the government has also confirmed that it will scrap mass testing for the general public and will no longer require employers to include Covid-19 in their risk assessments.  

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