Pictured in the dock: Tearful Love Island star Zara Holland is seen facing justice
A tearful Zara Holland stood nervously in the dock today as she admitted she had been ‘foolish’ for breaking Barbados’ strict Covid laws.
The Love Island star, 25, clasped her hands together and wore a face mask as she took to the stand in Bridgetown and escaped with a £4,500 fine.
It comes after the former Miss England, who braved a tropical rainstorm as she arrived to the courthouse, was warned she could face up to a year in jail for trying to flee the island with her boyfriend Elliott Love after he tested positive for Covid.
During her brief hearing Miss Holland was given a dressing down by the magistrate – and warned she would be jailed for nine months if she failed to pay the fine within seven days.
Miss Holland appeared shaken and anxious as she sat in the dock of the District ‘D’ Magistrates Court today.
She pleaded guilty to one charge of breaching the Barbados’ Covid-19 quarantine protocol.
Mr Love, 30, remains in isolation on the island’s Paragon Isolation Centre where he has been since their arrest trying to flee Grantley Adams Airport on December 29.
Love Island star Zara Holland took to the dock and admitted she had been ‘foolish’ for breaking Barbados’ strict Covid laws
Miss Holland was pictured today arriving at court where she escaped with a £4,500 fine and avoided a prison sentence
Miss Holland, wearing a smart black dress and accompanied by her lawyer, was caught in a tropical rainstorm as she walked to the courthouse in Bridgetown, Barbados
The former Miss Great Britain, who appeared on Love Island four years ago, admitted she had been ‘foolish’ as she avoided jail despite earlier being told she faced up to a year in prison
Her lawyer helped Miss Holland with the door (above) as she entered the court. She was given a dressing down by the magistrate after pleading guilty to breaking Covid laws
The 25-year-old was earlier seen (above) looking nervous as she left the £350-a-night Hilton Hotel, where she has been staying, and climbing into a car on her way to court
The model (seen on holiday in Barbados in 2019) issued a grovelling apology to the country after her arrest for trying to flee after boyfriend Elliott Love tested positive for the virus
The former Miss England and her partner Mr Love (pictured together) were ‘intercepted’ at the airport after police raided their hotel room and found that they had already left
After the hearing Miss Holland’s lawyer, Andrew Pilgrim QC, blamed her ‘lapse’ in judgment on a ‘foolish error’.
He explained the model had received two negative Covid-19 test results before arriving on the island.
However after Mr Love tested positive for the virus she became extremely nervous about their situation when they were told to quarantine in their hotel.
That led to their ‘foolish’ decision to try to leave the island, he explained.
Mr Pilgrim insisted Miss Holland had the upmost respect for the people of Barbados and had been visiting the island twice a year for the last six years.
However Magistrate Ian Weekes told Holland she was ‘not in charge’ and should not have left her hotel without ‘clearance’ from the Bajan authorities.
He said: ‘You can’t operate on the belief you are in charge and you can do as you like.
‘Even though you receive negative test results it is vital that you understand you have to be given clearance.’
Miss Holland was yesterday seen enjoying the sun on the balcony at the Barbados Hilton Hotel
Wearing a white sports bra, the former beauty queen wandered to and from the balcony from the hotel room to which she has been confined since being questioned by police
The Love Island star (seen yesterday) breathed a huge sigh of relief when she learned she had been spared jail at court today and escaped with a fine that she must pay within seven days
Miss Holland then breathed a huge sigh of relief when she learned she had been spared jail.
Her lawyer presented bank statement to the court proving his client had the ability to pay the £4,417 fine.
But he explained Miss Holland could not pay the fine today as a bank transfer from the UK had not yet cleared in Barbados, due to the recent bank holidays.
Mr Pilgrim said this money had already been deposited in his firm’s account and he was hopeful it would clear within the seven days limit given to pay the fine.
She was released from court on ba
il, set at £7,355. She is believed to have returned to the £350-a-night Hilton Hotel, where she has been staying, after the hearing. She will be free to leave the island once the fine is paid.
With her streaked blonde hair pulled back, Miss Holland still managed to catch some rays on a balmy 29 degrees day on the balcony eating fruit and talking endlessly on her mobile phone
Miss Holland is staying at the five-star beachfront Hilton Hotel (above) where she is confined to her room because she has been in close contact with Mr Elliott, who tested positive
The Hilton (pictured) is one of the finest hotels on the Caribbean island with two pools, three restaurants, a coffee bar, jewellery shop, its own palm-fronted white sand beach
But her bail money will be forfeited and she will be jailed for nine months unless the fine is paid within seven days.
She cannot leave the island until the fine has been cleared by the courts.
Speaking outside the court Mr Pilgrim made a brief statement on behalf of Holland.
He said; ‘We accept the decision of the court. Miss Holland wants to express her sincere apologies to the entire nation of Barbados. At this point we have no further comment.’
While Miss Holland resides at the five-star Hilton, one of the finest hotels on Barbados, Mr Love is languishes in the rather less salubrious surroundings of the Paragon Isolation Centre a few miles across the island.
The centre is described as mosquito-infested and has been condemned by former inmates for its squalid conditions.
Meanwhile her boyfriend Mr Elliott is hold up at less appealing surroundings of the Paragon Isolation Centre, which has been condemned by former inmates for its squalid conditions
One former inmate described the Paragon Isolation Centre (pictured) as having no air conditioning and very few windows. They added: ‘The mosquitoes are relentless.’
One said: ‘The quarantine accommodations at Paragon have no air conditioning and very few windows. The mosquitos are relentless.
‘You are bunking with several others in a room and sharing a bathroom with dozens of others.
‘You will be fed but it is not conductive to working even though there is wifi.
‘Maybe you can handle minimal luxury for a short amount of time by it’s best you know the reality.’
It is unclear whether Miss Holland plans to remain on the island until Mr Love’s situation has been resolved.