Shropshire Star

Police urge people to raise alarm on lockdown breaches after quiet Easter weekend

Police are urging people to alert them to serious breaches of lockdown rules, and thanked communities for staying indoors.

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Chief superintendent Tom Harding of West Mercia Police

Officers patrolled parks, beauty spots and green spaces in Shropshire and were pleased to see them empty. The M54, which is usually choc-a-block with traffic as people take trips to the seaside and to see friends and family, was also practically deserted.

Chief Superintendent Tom Harding was pleased to see people heeding the government advice to "Stay at Home, Protect the NHS and Save Lives".

He said: “I want to say a massive thank you to everyone across the three counties we cover for their over-whelming support over the bank holiday weekend.

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“The vast majority of people took the advice to stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives, and I’m really pleased to be able to say that we have not seen any significant issues this weekend.

“I have seen some fantastic photographs from our teams of empty roads including the M54 in Shropshire and M5 in Worcestershire which as we know are normally busy motorways as well as empty beauty spots like The Wrekin in Telford and empty parks in Herefordshire.

“This is great and the positive response means officers can continue to support our local communities by engaging, explaining and encouraging people rather than enforcement, this will always only ever be a last resort.”

Police are also encouraging members of the public who want to report any significant issues or serious breaches of the ‘stay at home’ measures to do so online.

Ch Supt Harding added: “If you are concerned and feel you have information about a significant issue or serious breach of the ‘stay at home’ measures, then please can I encourage you to report it online via our website. Reporting issues to us means we can identify any patterns and trends and where we need to, we can engage with those individuals and take appropriate steps.”

To report Covid-19 breaches to West Mercia Police visit westmercia.police.uk/tua/tell-us-about/c19/tell-us-about-possible-breach-coronavirus-measures/

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