More than 50 Covid fines issued in Wiltshire for second week in a row
People are once again being reminded of the importance of adhering to the national lockdown.
During the 1st to 7th of February Wiltshire Police issued 52 fines to people who were failing to follow the Government's lockdown rules.
This brings the overall total to 509.
The most recent incidents included three women, aged in their 30s and 40s, found socialising in the same house in Bulford on Saturday (6th Febrary).
The trio were issued Fixed Penalty Notices after officers were called to the property on a separate matter.
On Sunday (7th February) FPNs were issued to two men and two women, all in their 20s, following another incident in Bulford.
Officers had approached two parked vehicles and found that they were all from different households and had no reasonable excuse to be away from home.
WARNINGS
During the first week of this month Wiltshire Police also issued 108 formal warnings to people failing to adhere to the Government rules.
Three of those were issued to businesses not complying.
COMPLACENCY
Deputy Chief Constable Paul Mills said there was a sense that some people were becoming complacent about the importance of lockdown.
"I know that so many people will have found this third national lockdown very difficult."
"It appears that some may be becoming fatigued by the ongoing restrictions, or perhaps the positive news about the vaccination roll-out is causing a misguided sense of complacency. "
"The Government has made it clear that this pandemic is far from over and the various new strains that we have seen emerging across the country, means it remains incredibly important that we all do our bit to help stop the spread of the virus."
"Now is not the time to be lax - the lockdown remains in place and everybody needs to play their part by staying at home unless they have an essential reason for being out and about. "
The force say they will continue to carry out proactive patrols.
PLEA TO THINK ABOUT YOUR ACTIONS
Police and Crime Commissioner Angus Macpherson added:
"We are now coming up to almost a year since we first started hearing about Covid-19 and I appreciate that this latest lockdown, which has coincided with the colder, darker months, has felt tough for a lot of people."
"But the reality is, we need everyone to do their bit if we want our lives to return to some sort of normality any time soon - the more people break the rules, the more prevalent the virus will be.
"So I would urge everyone to continue to think carefully about their actions and do everything they can to limit social contact."