JUST 11 fines for Covid breaches were handed out over the Easter Bank Holiday in North Yorkshire, with ten of those coming in the Scarborough borough.

North Yorkshire Police said that it had been a quiet weekend with fines only being handed out for illegal indoor gatherings, with all but one of them coming on the coast.

Superintendent Mike Walker, North Yorkshire Police lead for the force’s Covid response told a meeting of the North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum that it was “encouraging” that the number of fines had dropped so dramatically.

He said in the last seven days just 14 fines had been issued, down from 170 the week before despite the “very busy” bank holiday. Supt Walker said: “It is pleasing that the rightfully careful and cautious step one 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 two 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.

“There is still no mixing of households allowed indoors until at least May 17 under step three, and the “rule of six” or two households remains in place regarding outdoor gatherings, including in private gardens.

“Our policing teams will be promoting adherence to these rules while on targeted and highly visible patrols.

“We will continue to use our “four Es” approach to engage with the public, explain the regulations, encourage compliance, and enforce only as a last resort when a blatant breach has occurred.

“Officers and PCSOs will also be on hand to support our local authority, trading standards and licensing partners during checks on businesses such as pubs and restaurants, who be able to provide outdoor hospitality from April 12.”

Supt Walker said there was no clear reason why more fines were being handed out in Scarborough but said that people in the area had been reporting breaches to officers.

He added: “Clearly in Scarborough there has been a great deal of concern raised regarding household gatherings and people travelling into the area during the lockdown.

“So we will continue to have a responsive approach to these issues, which explains to some degree [the number of fines] but other than that it is something we may look back at over the next 12 months to see if there was a particular problem in Scarborough.”