Convicted Love Islander Zara Holland waits in luxury hotel for £4,500 fine to clear the bank before she can leave Barbados after breaking island’s Covid laws as boyfriend Elliott Love remains locked up in mosquito-ridden facility
- Star cannot leave Barbados until money she owes has been transferred from UK
- She has to pay Bajun $12,000 (£4,417) fine for breaking Barbados Covid laws
- The tearful Love Island star pleaded guilty in court in Bridgetown on Wednesday
- The 25-year-old avoided jail despite earlier being told she faced up to a year
- She tried to flee isle with partner Elliott Love after he tested positive for the virus
- The couple were arrested at the airport as they tried to catch a flight to the UK
- She has returned to her £350-a-night hotel while she waits for fine to clear
- Her partner Mr Love, 30, remains in a medical facility following his positive test
Zara Holland is waiting in a luxury hotel room in Barbados for her £4,500 fine to clear the bank before she she can leave the island after breaking strict Covid laws.
The Love Island star is back in her £350-a-night bolthole at The Hilton after making a tearful appearance in court in Bridgetown on Wednesday when she was told she would be spared jail after pleading guilty.
However the 25-year-old former Miss England now faces an anxious wait while a money transfer clears through the Barbados banking system.
She has seven days to pay the fine, or faces nine-months in prison, and has been released on £7,355 bail.
Once the fine is paid, she faces another dilemma – whether to wait for boyfriend Elliot Love, 30 who tested positive for Covid, and is currently being held in a mosquito-ridden military facility called the Paragon Isolation Centre on the island.
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 arriving at court on Wednesday 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
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
The pair ‘panicked’ after his positive test last week and attempted to fly home to the UK, but were arrested at the airport for breaking quarantine.
Love, whose condition is not known, has not been charged.
Holland, who appeared in court wearing a face mask, braved a tropical rainstorm as she arrived at the courthouse and was given a dressing down by the magistrate who threatened the jail sentence if the fine was not paid.
Her lawyer, Andrew Pilgrim QC, told the court that funds had been deposited in his firm’s account, but hadn’t yet cleared due to recent Bank Holidays.
Miss Holland appeared shaken and anxious as she sat in the dock of the District ‘D’ Magistrates Court.
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.
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.
Miss Holland was seen enjoying the sun on the balcony at the Barbados Hilton Hotel on Tuesday
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 on Tuesday) 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
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 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.
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
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 for its squalid conditions.
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 conducive 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.’
Meanwhile her boyfriend Mr Elliott is hold up at less appealing surroundings of the Paragon Isolation Centre, which has been condemned 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.’
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