People who don't follow Coronavirus restrictions during lockdown should be prepared to face tougher enforcement actions, the Staffordshire Chief Constable has said.

Chief Constable Gareth Morgan issued a statement yesterday (Wednesday), outlining how the local police force will be operating during lockdown.

It comes as England begins a four-week lockdown period, with severe restrictions being in place across the country until December.

In the statement, Chief Constable Morgan thanked those who have done their best to follow the rules in Staffordshire so far.

However, he also issued a warning to those who believe the rules "do not apply to them."

He said: "As a police force, we recognise that the last nine months have been very challenging for people and will continue to be so, as we face these latest restrictions.

"We know the majority of people in Staffordshire have done their best to follow the regulations in order to reduce the spread of Covid-19, for which we sincerely thank you all.

"But in Staffordshire the virus is spreading rapidly and in particular hospital admissions are increasingly dramatically which is putting huge pressure on healthcare services.

"So our priority must now be to work together to control the spread of the virus across the region and help prevent local healthcare services being overwhelmed.

"All of us need to focus, adjust and adapt to do the best we can in the circumstances including taking personal responsibility to ensure we follow the rules on social distancing, personal hygiene and the use of face coverings.

"It is critical that the people of Staffordshire closely comply with the revised measures to ensure the safety and well-being of our friends and family.

"To the minority who sadly do not accept the rules and mistakenly believe they do not apply to them, be prepared to face higher levels of enforcement.

"We will be stepping up patrols, using robust enforcement consistently and working closely with partners to ensure a high level of adherence to these new restrictions to control the virus.

"Thank you again to the vast majority of people who are working hard and making sacrifices to play their part in bringing the virus under control so we can return to a more normal way of life."