WELL over 100 Tier 3 residents were fined at the weekend for breaching coronavirus regulations in York – and a police chief has warned any others heading to the city in coming days that they are likely to be caught as well.

Supt Mike Walker, of North Yorkshire Police, said that looking at the numbers of fines handed out at the weekend which were still awaiting processing, he believed that officers handed out over 160 tickets.

He said the vast majority were issued to tier 3 residents who visited York to mix and socialise indoors, which was in clear breach of their restrictions.

“Throughout the pandemic, we have been very clear about our approach and the action taken this weekend is evidence of it,” he said.

“ We have stated our teams would be patrolling, speaking to the public and encouraging them to adhere to the rules.

“Where we encounter people who refuse to adhere to the regulations and believe their pint is more important than someone’s life, we will use our enforcement powers.

“Some people who were spoken to by officers did go home. However, our teams encountered large numbers of people who were not responsive to the advice, leaving us no option but to enforce through the use of fixed penalty notices.

“We will continue to patrol the city and the wider county and we will be visiting licensed premises and busy shopping areas.

“People very clearly know and understand the risks, they know that this virus is deadly, they will know about the identification of a new strain and know the serious steps the Government has taken in the South East, so there really is no excuse for acting so irresponsibly.

“If you choose to visit the city of York from tier 3 areas without a justifiable reason to have made your journey – with our extra patrols, chances are you will encounter one of our officers and you’ll be asked about the reason for your visit.

"It is our responsibility to ask those questions, to determine the truth and take the necessary action, in order to stop the spread and ultimately save lives.”