25 people fined in Scotland under new Coronavirus socialising rules
It's a criminal offence to ignore the rules about social distancing in the midst of the Covid-19 lockdown.
Police Scotland issued 25 fixed penalty notices over the weekend to people flouting the regulations introduced in a bid to stop people from spreading coronavirus in public places.
The new powers in the Coronavirus Act make it a criminal offence to flout the public health guidance on social distancing to prevent Covid-19.
On-the-spot fines of £30 can be issued to people who breach social distancing measures, rising to £60 if they are not paid within 28 days and capped at £960 for repeat offenders.
Deputy Chief Constable Malcolm Graham told Clyde News that, despite the small number of cases where fines were issued, the vast majority of the public were complying with the new regulations.
Mr Graham said: "We've had high visibility patrols in place right across Scotland since we were given enforcement powers.
"It's clear that the vast majority of people are complying with the measures.
"They know the message is to stay at home and by and large they're doing that in order to save lives and take some strain from the NHS.
"Where our officers have encountered people outside they've been able to engage with and enlighten them on why it's so important to follow the guidance from our public health experts.
"There will always be people who sadly refuse to comply, but the low number of only 25 penalty notices shows that they're in the minority and in those cases we've had to use enforcement as a last resort." DCC Graham's comments come after images on social media showed dozens of cars at Strathclyde Country Park in Motherwell, on Sunday.
Although the guidelines allow people to take a walk as a form of exercise each day, Mr Graham said the public were still getting used to what the measures mean for daily life.
He added: "This is a huge change to the way people live their lives and we're all adjusting to that very quickly.
"There were issues with some people driving to outdoor spaces such as parks and we will address this working with our partners where appropriate.
"We've been given extraordinary powers in an extraordinary situation.
"Powers we would not normally have and I would like to thank the public in helping and supporting us."