POLICE in North Yorkshire have issued just 14 Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) since some Covid restrictions were eased by the Government on March 29.

Over the bank holiday weekend, 11 FPNs were issued - all were for indoor gathering breaches, of which 10 occurred in the Scarborough area.

The 14 further FPNs issued over the last week is a significant drop on the 170 issued in the previous week.

Commenting on the figures, Superintendent Mike Walker, who is leading North Yorkshire Police’s response to coronavirus, said: "It is pleasing that the rightfully careful and cautious Step 1 of the Government’s Road Map Out of lockdown has gone well in our area.

"This is testament to the outstanding partnership working we have in North Yorkshire and the City of York, plus the invaluable support from our communities who have experienced the collective effort to keep everyone safe during the pandemic.

"As we move to Step 2 of the road map on Monday (April 12), it is now more important than ever to keep following the health protection measures while the vaccination programme is rolled out.

"Our message to everyone is to keep up this amazing effort. Please keep doing all you can to reduce the risk of catching Covid-19 or unwittingly spreading the virus to others."