Redcar coastal beauty spot day trippers 'not welcome'

There are fears there will be an influx of visitors to places like Saltburn

Day trippers will not be welcome at coastal beauty spots on Teesside and car parks will remain closed.

The leader of Redcar and Cleveland Council announced restrictions as other North East councils announced a "phased reopening".

Councillor Mary Lanigan said the government had moved too fast to relax the lockdown.

There was concern places such as Saltburn would be unable to cope with an influx of visitors.

Hartlepool Council has also told visitors to stay away, fearing they may be drawn to the seaside as the weather improves.

Council leader Shane Moore, said: "Although government advice has now changed and there is nothing we can do to stop visitors, we're asking people to remember that Covid-19 is still a very real threat."

Car parks were closed and enforcement action would be taken where necessary, he said.

Redcar is not, as yet, "open for normal business"

Households in England have been told they can now take unlimited exercise, travel any distance by car in order to find somewhere to stretch their legs, and meet up with someone outside their immediate group as long as they continue to observe social distancing rules.

Councillor Lanigan said it risked a spike in infection cases in some areas, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

She said: "They have lifted it [the restrictions] too quickly.

"We are not on top of this and people need to be aware [the virus] has not gone away.

"Let's make sure we have this under control first. After eight weeks in lockdown I don't think we have reached that point yet."

She said that after meetings with her cabinet and opposition members, car parks popular with tourists would remain closed, as would public toilets

"If we open the car parks people will think they can do what they want and I don't want Redcar and Cleveland being thought of as open as normal for business," she added.