COATE Water Country Park cafe staff have warned people to follow social distancing rules or it will be forced to close.

In a Facebook post, they said police officers had visited the park twice on Sunday after reports of people congregating.

Under Covid lockdown rules, no-one should leave their home except for essential shopping, exercise, going to work or to escape the risk of harm.

Coate Water Cafe wrote on its Facebook page: “Today we had the police speak to our staff twice about people not socially distancing in the park and in the queue.

“They are very concerned that groups of people are meeting up at the park, and this, along with a lack of social distancing that they witnessed today puts us in a difficult position.

“We cannot control what people are doing in the park or outside the café when we are fully stretched working hard to serve you. But we do have signs, markings on the floor, procedures, and more in place to ensure the lockdown rules are followed. If people do not do what they are supposed to do, they have told us they will shut us down.

“We really do not want that, we are only just getting back on our feet after the first lockdown.”

Coun Dale Heenan, who responsible for the borough’s country parks, said: “We want people to be able to enjoy our country parks because they are important for people’s health and wellbeing during the current lockdown.

“I used Lydiard and Stanton for walking my dog over the weekend and we need all visitors to follow the social distancing rules. The police are doing their job and while it might seem heavy-handed, it is important the message gets across to those being ‘covidiots’.

“Social distancing rules are there for a reason – to stop the spread of the virus and it is up to all of us to play our part. Stay two metres away from others, be aware of those around you, and step aside if necessary to create space.

“There are signs in our parks reminding visitors of the rules and council officers are keeping them under review to reflect the current guidance, but people need to take personal responsibility to keep themselves safe when they are in public spaces. No-one wants to close the parks because of police advice, but if that happens then it will be down to a disrespectful minority.”

Deputy chief constable Paul Mills said: “Over the past week we have continued with our proactive policing patrols across the county. The teams who patrolled both Lydiard Park and Coate Water in Swindon raised concerns about people gathering in groups and failing to socially distance.

“While we appreciate that people need to get outdoors for exercise, we need to remind everyone that they shouldn’t be meeting groups of friends or sitting down for picnics.”

Police and crime commissioner Angus Macpherson added: “We know that many people who have Covid-19 could be completely unaware, as they are asymptomatic. The advice from scientists is to act as if you have the virus, to reduce the risk of you passing it on to others.”

The latest figures revealed by Wiltshire Police show that between January 11 and 17 there were 315 reports of alleged coronavirus law breaches in the first week of lockdown. Those who break stay-at-home rules can be fined £200 for a first offence. The fine is doubled for each further offence.

Officers issued 104 warnings and 21 fines, the majority of which were given to people gathering in groups.