More than a dozen people fined for breaching coronavirus regulations after North Yorkshire Police called to four separate house parties in one weekend

Some 14 coronavirus fines were handed out this weekend, North Yorkshire Police said, after being called to break up the gatherings in Scarborough.

All of North Yorkshire is currently in Tier 2, where households are banned from mixing indoors (with the exception of support bubbles), and the rule of six applies to meeting outdoors.

It comes as data released yesterday (Monday) revealed the Scarborough district had the county's highest rate of confirmed new cases of Covid-19, with 163 per 100,000 people.

Police described it as "shocking" that some people were continuing to flout the rules and throw parties, expressing concerns of more callouts to parties and gatherings over the coming weeks during the festive season.

Chief Inspector Rachel Wood, Operational Commander for Scarborough and Ryedale said: “It’s really concerning to see the number of fixed penalty notices we have had to issue this weekend, especially considering that it was only a few weeks ago that Scarborough had some of the highest infection rates in the UK.

"Residents, the local authority and our policing teams have all worked so hard to get the infection rates down. So to see people having parties and jeopardising that progress is really quite shocking.

“I realise people want to get their lives back to normal and want to see friends and family – we all do. However, if we all rush out and ignore the regulations, we are going to end up back at square one.

"The Government have made it clear that tiers are to be reviewed on a regular basis, so the threat of being placed into higher restrictions is real."

A total of 17 fines overall were given out across the county this weekend, the force said, with the other three given to people from Cleveland - which is in the Tier 3 area - visiting Tier 2 Whitby.

Chief Insp Wood added: “There is concern that as we get further into the festive season, more and more people are going to be tempted to flout the rules. We really do not want to give this virus any chance of spreading again, so I would urge people to adhere to the current regulations and not gather indoors with anyone who is not from your own household.

“Our neighbourhood teams are patrolling and will be ready to take action against any breaches of the regulations and we will use enforcement if we have to.

"If the thought of putting vulnerable people at risk doesn’t make people think twice, perhaps the prospect of a £200 fine right before Christmas will.”

North Yorkshire has seen some of the highest numbers of penalty fines given out in England since the Government announced new powers for police in March, according to the National Police Chiefs Council.

Superintendent Mike Walker, North Yorkshire Police lead for the force’s Covid response, said: “I realise that as we approach Christmas, the temptation to bend the rules and to meet friends and family indoors before the exemption period may be difficult to resist.

"Last week we heard the sobering announcement that the UK had surpassed 60,000 deaths, due to this virus. That just shows the stark reality of the devastation this virus can cause.

“Each one of the 60,000 people lost was someone’s loved one – their mum, dad, wife, husband or child. For me, that certainly puts everything in perspective and makes me more committed to our policing task and working together with the public and our community partners to prevent as many deaths as we possibly can.”

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