Covid-19: Lancashire sees 'disappointing' rise in rule breaches

Lancashire's director of public health said now was "not the time to let our guards down"

A "disappointing" rise in Covid-19 rule breaches saw 31 fines handed out at four house parties over the weekend, Lancashire Police have said.

Deputy Chief Constable Terry Woods said the county, which is under tier three restrictions, had seen an increase in breaches in recent days.

House parties were the "biggest issue" and gatherings in Blackburn and Nelson had to be broken up, he added.

The force added that fines would only be used as "an absolute last resort".

The latest government figures showed the county had a wide range of Covid-19 infection rates in the week up to 9 December, with Burnley seeing the highest rate of 287.9 cases per 100,000 people while Fylde recorded the lowest rate of 92.8 cases per 100,000.

Urging people to follow the rules, which currently ban households outside support bubbles from mixing indoors, DCC Woods said in a tweet that it was important not to "drop our guard against Covid".

His comments were underlined by the county's director of public health, Dr Sakthi Karunanithi, who said there had been "a positive trend in Lancashire since October" and now was "not the time to let our guards down".

A force spokesman said restrictions were in place "to protect the health of people and their families and friends and to stop the spread of the virus" and Lancashire Police was taking "a common sense and proportionate approach" to enforcement.

"We'll continue to engage with people, explain the rules, encourage everyone affected to follow them and only enforce them as an absolute last resort," he added.