Playing Fields May Close Due To Lockdown Breaches

A parish council has warned that it may have to close its playing fields including a skate park due to breaches of lockdown rules.

Swanmore Parish Council says it has received lots of complaints over the last two weekends about people not following the Government lockdown guidelines.

It says patrols by its Community Safety Officer Gary McCulloch have had to be stepped up but yesterday a police presence was required at the New Road Playing Fields.

The Parish Council said yesterday: “Unfortunately this morning’s visit resulted in the local police being called out and taking down the details of users choosing to ignore the rules and Gary.

“This didn’t need to happen. Gary has the full support of the Parish Council and works closely with officers of the local policing team. If you choose to use our facilities and ignore rules as well as our advice then you are at risk of being fined by the police.

“We are at risk of having to close the facilities off, which would be a huge shame for the majority who are following the rules.”

A week ago the Parish Council posted on its Facebook page: “We are in a lockdown, please read the rules and FOLLOW them if you are using any of the open spaces and facilities in Swanmore.

“We are already receiving multiple reports of the rules not being followed. There should be no mix-household groups anywhere in the village, no group PT sessions and no sports being played in mixed-household groups.

“We pass all reports on to the local police. Those people who are not taking the situation seriously really are putting the rest of the village at risk.”

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