ANOTHER 186 fines have been issued across the county for breaches of Covid rules, the highest in the third lockdown, police have said.

The force continues to ask people not to be complacent as infection rates are reducing across the county and follow the rules about non-essential travel and unlawful gatherings inside and outside and refer to rule-breakers as 'the reckless minority'.

Between February 9 and 16, Craven was issued a further 23 fixed penalty notices; all to visitors.

Of these, 21 were handed to males and two to females. All were for 'being outside place of living'.

Since the third lockdown started on January 6, North Yorkshire Police have issued 826 fines county-wide.

Craven has received 87 of them: three to residents, 84 to visitors. They were handed to 75 males and 12 females. All were for being outside place of living apart from one which was for an outside gathering.

Superintendent Mike Walker is leading North Yorkshire Police’s response to the pandemic and chairs the multi-agency North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum.

He said: "“News that infection rates are reducing in all parts of North Yorkshire and the City of York is greatly heartening.

“This is down to the collective effort within our communities and all the agencies working together.

“The continued roll-out of the vaccination programme is clearly the significant boost that will, eventually, underpin our return to a more normal way of living. This is what we are all striving for.

“However, we’re still in a precarious position as the infection rate can fluctuate. We must continue to do all we can to abide by the health protection regulations which are designed to limit the spread of the virus.

“This is not the time to become complacent about the coronavirus. We’ve got to keep going and make sure all the hard work and sacrifice has been for the worthwhile purpose – protecting our loved ones and returning to the lifestyle we have taken for granted in the past.

“As for the reckless minority who think the regulations do not apply to them, we will continue to actively target these blatant breaches, while providing a highly-visible and reassuring presence for the wider community who are doing the right thing and helping to tackle this public health crisis.”