Former Mr Universe and Hartlepool gym owner Eddy Ellwood due in court to face lockdown breach case

His Xtreme Fitness business, on Hartlepool’s Longhill Industrial Estate, was served with a Closure Notice earlier this week in a joint operation carried out by Hartlepool Borough Council and Cleveland Police.

The council said Mr Ellwood had been allowing people to exercise there as a protest against the emergency rules.

It added in a statement on Tuesday: “The council has on a number of occasions advised the owner of Xtreme Fitness that his gym must be closed in order to protect public health during the current pandemic but he has refused to comply with the law.

“As such, we have been left with no alternative other than to serve a Closure Notice requiring the premises to close immediately.

“In addition, an application has been made to Teesside Magistrates Court for a Closure Order that can require the premises to remain closed for up to three months.

"The application is due to be heard on Thursday. Anyone who breaches a Closure Notice or a Closure Order can face imprisonment or an unlimited fine.”

Mr Ellwood, originally from East Durham, clinched the Mr Universe title five times between 1997-2001 and was England’s Strongest Man winner on three occasions between 2003-05.

He has so far declined to comment ahead of Thursday morning’s hearing.

Inspector Tony Cross, from Cleveland Police, said: "We’re sympathetic to the current situation of business owners and the challenges that they face, but the rules are clear, and gyms have been ordered to close under the current coronavirus legislation.”

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