Police will “rapidly” move to fining people where there have been flagrant breaches of the coronavirus regulations, Wiltshire Police’s chief constable said.

Throughout the pandemic, Kier Pritchard in common with other police chiefs has stressed the importance of what have been termed the four Es when it comes to policing the coronavirus restrictions: engage, explain, encourage and enforce.

Today, he promised strict action against those caught flouting the rules.

“I’ve been very clear with my officers and staff that when there are flagrant breaches we will rapidly move to the enforcement stage. That is not the time for education and it’s not the time for warnings,” the audibly frustrated chief constable told BBC Radio Wiltshire.

“Over the last week we’ve seen some terrible examples: a 34-year-old man drove from Luton to Devizes allegedly to buy a McDonald’s, not that a McDonald’s exists. He received a £200 fine and his uninsured car was seized.”

The senior officer cited other recent examples, including a group of teenagers and young adults gathered at a Calne skate park and a group that travelled from London to Stonehenge late on Sunday night and refused to leave. One of the Stonehenge visitors was said to have assaulted a police officer.

Mr Pritchard said: “Now is not the time for people to become complacent. Certainly, now is not the time for people to bend the rules and breach the regulations.”

Over the past week, police in Wiltshire issued 21 fines, 104 warnings and received 357 reports from members of the public about alleged covid regulation breaches.