Police chiefs have complained that they are the “villains of the pandemic” as they brace to send scores of Brits home this Bank Holiday weekend.
Senior officers said they had accepted they would meet the wrath of the public by cracking down on sunbathers, picnickers and VE Day revellers who flout the lockdown.
Cabinet Secretary Oliver Dowden admitted on Friday morning that the lockdown is facing a major test from the sunny weekend ahead.
Forces are understood to be furious that the Government’s “mixed messaging” around easing some restrictions has “diluted” the message.
One senior officer told the Times: “We have always said we need a clear and consistent message from government to the public but there is now a view that things are being relaxed. A lot of people seem to have decided that it is all over.
“We are being asked to enforce the lockdown and we are going to be painted as villains once again when we stop people enjoying the sunshine and having VE Day parties with their neighbours.”
Several forces that cover national parks have urged the public to be vigilant despite Boris Johnson hinting at a “very limited… easement” of curbs from Monday.
The PM is set to unveil his “roadmap” which is rumoured to include relaxing the “stay at home” message, but reports suggest the lockdown will remain until June.
But Nicola Sturgeon fired a warning shot to Number 10 on Thursday by extending the shut down, while the Welsh Government has accused ministers of “mixed messaging”.
The PM redoubled the call for Brits to stay indoors on VE Day, warning the fight against coronavirus “demands the same spirit of national endeavour" as World War Two.
Already over 9,000 fines have been handed out to people breaching the rules since lockdown began and some 400 repeat offenders have been recorded.
It came as fresh official survey data suggested 400,000 people in the UK could already be infected. The death toll passed the grim milestone of 30,000 earlier this week.
