IS it wrong that people are seeking clarification from the police on the lockdown exercise rules ('Selfish few try to beat lockdown', The Press, January 8)?

The previous day, The Press reported that lockdown guidance on gov.uk included that you can exercise in countryside accessible to the public, forests and the grounds to a heritage site.

It also said that if you need to travel you should stay local, meaning avoiding travelling outside of your village, town or the part of a city where you live.

To my mind, and clearly to many others, this does not stack up.

How often are countryside accessible to the public, forests or grounds to a heritage site to be found in a village, town or parts of a city? It's no wonder people are contacting the police 'in droves'. I suggest these are not selfish people who are trying to bend the rules: they simply want to understand them.

Anne Rylatt,

Caedmon Close,

York

... May I enter a word of caution, please, in relation to your headline ('Selfish few try to beat lockdown', The Press, January 8) and its accompanying article on page 2 (People 'trying to stretch the rules').

Undoubtedly recent events confirm that some folk will do as the latter suggests.

On the other hand, there is a danger, I suspect, in misinterpreting some of the queries that prompted the comment.

The regulations about lockdown have not been easy to interpret.

So people who make such enquiries, such as the one about the legitimacy of a family trip in the car to the North York Moors for exercise, are possibly being rational and sensible rather than potential rule-breakers.

They may just have been seeking clarification of some unduly murky instructions, especially the rather slippery term "local".

Clive Goodhead,

Rowley Court,

Earswick,

York