POLICE had to visit a village at the weekend after the 'large number' of visitors blocked narrow lanes, preventing deliveries from getting through.

A number of people living in Hutton Village, near Guisborough, had called Cleveland Police to report problems with large numbers of visitors and parking issues.

Officers attended at the weekend to put up notices reminding people about Covid restrictions and to look at issues with vehicles parking in narrow lanes. 

Local people had reported that large visitor numbers, particularly during recent snowy weather, meant delivery vehicles, for fuel, food and other essentials, had been unable to get through, while others voiced concern that emergency vehicles would not be able to get through if required. 

Neighbourhoods Inspector Neil Deluce said: “It’s still a difficult time for everyone with Covid restrictions in place and I appreciate and completely understand people want and need to get outdoors to exercise safety.

“However the sheer number of people we’ve seen visiting the Hutton Village area recently has led to serious issues for residents and we acted swiftly to address these.

“Villagers rely on solid fuel deliveries and many are using online food and medical deliveries while the Government advice remains to stay at home as much as possible.

“My officers spoke with a number of the parked vehicles’ owners and explained the difficulties and, for the most part, they understood and accepted the issues.

"We’ll contact others in due course and hope they too will engage with us and appreciate we’re simply trying to work in difficult circumstances to support and protect everyone in our community.”