09 April 2020

GMB's Susanna Reid says exercise outside isn't a 'luxury, it's a necessity'

Good Morning Britain presenter Susanna Reid has hit out at individuals not listening to government advice after her local park was closed.

Reid lives near Brockwell park in Brixton which saw 3,000 people flock to it last weekend to enjoy the warm weather.

Their actions lked to the park being closed which, claimed Reid starved locals of a 'vital' lifeline, especially those living in high rise flats.

Writing for Mail Online, she said: "It is a vital breathing space for an area that has a high density of families with young children living in small flats on housing estates or in tower blocks. Families who are locked in with no green space, for whom the phrase ‘staring at the same four walls’ is depressingly accurate.

"As the sun shone last Saturday, 3,000 people flocked to the park’s hilly open spaces. I am sure most went in good faith that they could stay away from others who had the same idea — but, sadly, some visitors were sunbathing and socialising in groups.

"So, on Sunday, all park-goers were punished for the actions of the few who thought the rules didn’t apply to them, as the council decreed it couldn’t cope with the numbers and the gates were shut."

In light of the sunbathers at the weekend, Health Secretary Matt Hancock threatened to ban exercise outside, though the Government backtracked on the threat.

Reid said if this were to happen it would lead to 'frustration and despair'.

"Shutting people away, cooped up in cramped accommodation, is a recipe for frustration and despair. It is impossible for families in one-bedroom flats to get space from each other. No garden, no balcony, no patio means little activity for children.

"Those frontline workers we’re all so grateful to for their heroism also need to stretch their legs, take a walk with the children they are rarely able to see around work, or run off a difficult shift by pounding across the common.

"Lockdown is bearable if we know we can glimpse the outside world occasionally. Seeing trees, a big expanse of sky, walking on grass. Getting out isn’t a luxury — it’s a necessity."

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