Five people given Covid fines after vehicle stopped near Winterbourne Stoke
Three teens were also found breaking the rules in Amesbury
Last updated 2nd Mar 2021
Once again there's a disappointing number of people failing to stick to lockdown rules in Wiltshire.
Latest figures show in the last week of February Wiltshire Police issued 59 fixed penalty notices.
Five men were fined after officers stopped a vehicle on the A303 at a garage near Winterbourne Stoke on Saturday night (27th February).
The men, all aged between 21 and 34, said they had driven from Southampton to visit a friend, so were all issued with £200 fines for breaching lockdown restrictions.
Meanwhile three teenagers were fined after officers stopped at vehicle in The Centre in Amesbury last Wednesday (24th February).
The occupants, two 18 year olds and a 19 year old were all from different households.
The trio were all given £200 fines.
HOUSE PARTIES
Officers were also called to five separate house parties over the weekend, four in Swindon and one in Chippenham.
In one instance a group were celebrating an upcoming birthday.
A number of fines and warnings were given out.
Deputy Chief Constable Paul Mills said:
"Last week's announcement from the Prime Minister, which highlighted the positive news about the battle against Covid-19 and the potential for restrictions to be lifted over the coming months, has given many people a much-needed boost."
"However, it seems that a combination of that, and other factors over the weekend such as the warmer weather, have prompted some to inadvertently believe that they had been given the green-light to start socialising again."
"In fact, the very opposite is true. The Prime Minister has made it clear that the roadmap relies on keeping cases down and we all need to continue to show restraint if we are going to see a return to normal by the summer.
"We all need to remember that we are currently still in lockdown and the stay at home message remains the same. "
"As the examples from the weekend show, if we receive information that you are breaking the rules then we will take action and you should expect to receive a fine."
Since the start of the pandemic Wiltshire Police has issued 696 fixed penalty notices.