Police dish out 109 lockdown warnings and 16 summons’ over weekend

Police were forced to break up a birthday party amongst dozens of calls about people flouting coronavirus restrictions over the weekend.

Officers across Norfolk issued 109 warnings to people not sticking to lockdown guidance amid sunny weekend weather, while 16 court summons’ were also issued.

Chief constable Simon Bailey said there had been 300 calls relating to coronavirus concerns, some from people worried for people who had been seen for days but others about people not following the guidance.

Following reports from the public about a block of flats where visitors have been regularly attending, Norwich North SNT have completed a letter drop to all of the flats, explaining the current restrictions. Ignorance is not an excuse. #PC1184 #NNSNT #Communitypolicing pic.twitter.com/diDb5DOaur

— Norwich Police (@NorwichPoliceUK) April 5, 2020

Speaking on Radio Norfolk, he said: “Not too bad would be my assessment of the weekend but from my perspective it is disappointing. I still think that the message is yet to truly land which I find difficult to believe.

“We are now approaching as a nation 50,000 people that have tested positive and nearly 5000 deaths, just over 50 in the county.

“Unfortunately whilst the vast majority of people are adhering to the guidelines there are a small minority who are not and we have to engage with those.”

He added: “Incidents like a birthday party where people are contacting us saying they are concerned about a group of people flagrantly breaking the guidelines and putting people at risk.”

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Police also carried out a letter drop at a block of flats in Norwich where visitors have been reported as regularly attending over the weekend.

Mr Bailey said: “There are particular areas. Thankfully this weekend the coast was quite quiet but it is more challenging in those urban areas where perhaps people don’t have gardens so don’t have the opportunity to get out for more than an hour a day.

“Being confined in a one or two bedroom flat for 23 hours is difficult, I understand that, but let’s not forget where we are doing this. It is about protecting lives and the NHS.”

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