Police issue desperate lockdown plea to Sheffield to ensure families can ‘save Christmas’

MPs are expected to give the go-ahead later today to a proposed nationwide lockdown in a bid to reduce the spread of coronavirus.

And, ahead of the vote, South Yorkshire Police has issued an early plea urging people to comply with new rules.

The force handed out nine £10,000 fines in Sheffield last weekend to the organisers of illegal Halloween parties.

Officers also broke up a rave in a disused building in Kelham Island, which was attended by 300 revellers.

Since South Yorkshire was hit with Tier 3 coronavirus restrictions last month, the county’s police force has received over 1,100 reports of alleged breaches and just under 60 fines have been issued.

Among those fined are two holidaymakers ordered to pay £1,000 each after returning from Turkey and ignoring quarantine rules.

Superintendent Paul McCurry, who is overseeing the policing and enforcement of Covid restrictions in South Yorkshire, said if people want the chance of some sort of a normal Christmas this year, they need to act now.

“The general population of South Yorkshire have been absolutely fantastic in this crisis. People have stood shoulder to shoulder and gone the extra mile to limit the infection rate,” he said.

“But there is a small minority of people that don’t understand or blatantly ignore the rules because they feel they don’t apply to them and they are our focus.”

He added: “My hope is that people will follow the rules and pull together to allow the country to hopefully return to some form of normality ready for Christmas. I hope that as a nation we will pull together.”

But he said he feels a ‘slight worry and nervousness that there are some people who feel Covid is not real’.

“In the first lockdown we may not all have known someone with Covid but it is different now. This is a real public health crisis and we all need to do our bit to save lives and stop the NHS being overwhelmed,” he added.

He said enforcement will follow in clear cut breaches and officers will visit homes over the festive season regardless of the day if alleged breaches are made.