FIXED penalty notices handed out by North Yorkshire Police have dropped in number slightly across the county in the past week, but officers still gave out 210 in total.

Twenty three of the fines were given in Craven between March 1 and March 7, six of them to residents. Of those fined, 18 were male and five, female. Eleven tickets were for being outside place of living while 12 were for indoor gatherings. No details have yet been issued about where the indoor gatherings occurred or in what circumstances.

Craven has been issued with 131 fines during the latest lockdown began in January, bringing the total across North Yorkshire to 1,482.

The number of fines handed out by the force since the pandemic began now totals 3,375.

North Yorkshire Police Superintendent Mike Walker said: “It’s been another busy week for officers, but thankfully we have seen a reduction in the number of fixed penalty notices issued over the last seven days with 210 tickets being handed out.

“Around two thirds of the tickets written over the past week have been to visitors to the region, who have left their homes without a reasonable excuse and decided to make an unnecessary journey into North Yorkshire.

“As I said last week – we’re on the right path out of lockdown – but we’re not there yet. People are still contracting the virus and our hospitals are still caring for many people who are very ill, so we cannot afford to be complacent.

“I would ask the public to carry on adhering to the rules and continue to stay at home and only leave for necessary reasons, so we can pass the next milestone on the Government’s roadmap. Let’s keep going.”

The latest number of Covid-related deaths at Airedale Hospital has now reached 256. The latest death was reported to have occurred on March 4 and which was announced on March 6.