Police said they kicked out ‘about 70 people’ who were sunbathing or having picnics in Ashton Court yesterday (Saturday, April 11) and warned they would be returning to the park today.
Temperatures across the country peaked at 25.5C yesterday, with some people taking advantage of the warm weather, despite Government warnings for people to stay home in order to help slow the spread of coronavirus.
Photographs taken on Saturday (April 11) generally showed only small numbers of people visiting what are normally popular destinations such as parks and beaches.
But one popular park in Bristol seemed to attract lots of visitors yesterday, who weren’t just out for their daily exercise.
Avon and Somerset police said they had to ask around 70 people to leave Ashton Court who were sunbathing and having picnics.
A tweet sent out by the North Somerset police account also warned officers would be back at the site today (Sunday) to check if any more people are flouting lockdown rules.
So far this weekend Avon and Somerset police have been inundated with calls from the the public reporting apparent breaches of the coronavirus lockdown, with the force now urging people to go online first to report people gathering in groups, having parties or not adhering to the coronavirus lockdown guidelines.
Figures for the number of calls received, and the number of fixed penalty fines issued by officers, won’t be released until the end of the weekend, a police spokesperson said.
But he urged members of the public to understand the different ways in which apparent breaches should be reported - to try to ease the pressure on call-handlers who also have to deal with life-or-death emergencies.
