Policing teams across Pembrokeshire have thanked people who have continued to listen to Welsh Government guidelines and stayed away from the county over the Bank Holiday weekend.

With the good weather attracting beach-goers to ‘bustling’ beauty spots across England after lockdown restrictions were eased, Pembrokeshire’s beaches remained relatively quiet with people and dog walkers utilising the areas for their exercise, and a handful of anglers making the most of the new guidance stating that fishing is now allowed provided that it is done locally.

Despite the sunny weather both Tenby’s North and South beaches and others in the locality remained eerily quiet for what would normally be a packed time of the year, whilst the streets of the seaside resorts also saw very little footfall, with only a handful of essential shops open, although with many local ‘chippies’ now re-opening, there was ample opportunity to tuck into a traditional bag of fish and chips by the sea.

The Pembrokeshire Roads Policing Units along with other neighbourhood policing teams in the locality reported that there was very little of note to report over the weekend as they continued to conduct stop checks to ensure that those on the roads into the county were undertaking essential journeys.

One example of a motorist that didn’t take the Government’s advice on non-essential travel were the occupants of a motor home that had rented the vehicle in Berkshire and were stop-checked by police in the Stackpole area on Tuesday afternoon, some 200 miles away from their home.

The occupants were reported accordingly and escorted from the area.

Stop checks on the main roads heading into Pembrokeshire remain ongoing throughout the week.

Chief Constable of Dyfed-Powys Police, Mark Collins, reaffirmed guidelines on travelling advice and to stay local after MP for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire, Simon Hart’s claim on social media that it was acceptable for people to travel 15 miles to exercise.

Mr. Hart the Welsh Secretary of State - had met Wales’ four chief constables and police and crime commissioners ahead of the Bank Holiday and after the meeting tweeted that he believed that the consensus was that ‘travelling 10 to 15 miles from home to fish, play golf, surf or exercise’ was fine.

However, the chief constable pointed out that Mr. Hart’s advice was "not correct”.

“Welsh Government advice states that, in general, exercise should not involve people driving away from home, although exceptions do exist to support people with specific health or mobility issues,” remarked Mr. Collins.

“With regards to playing golf or angling, Welsh Government advises that this should also be done local to your home and people should not drive outside their local area to undertake these forms of exercise.

“Wales has a varied landscape and geography, and the definition of what constitutes local varies from region to region.

“As such I would ask that people use their judgement when assessing how far they travel in order to undertake some form of exercise.

“Our officers have worked hard over the last eight weeks to engage with the public at every opportunity, explain what we are doing and why, and encourage people to make the best choices to protect public health in Wales,” he added.Dyfed-Powys Police have continued to advise the public not to make journeys to beaches, with the advice that exercise should ‘start and finish from home’.“In Wales, driving to the coast to exercise is not considered a reasonable excuse to leave home. To reduce the risk of spread of coronavirus exercise must be done within an area local to home. ,” said a police spokesperson.“As one of the purposes of the restrictions is to reduce pressure on the Welsh NHS, the Welsh Government advises that people should not undertake forms of exercise that involve a significant degree of risk.“Clearly, with no RNLI lifeguards on beaches currently – the degree of risk associated with entering the water is increased greatly. Therefore now more than ever, people need to be responsible and stay home, as this will not only protect yourself and your loved ones, but it will also reduce the demands placed on emergency services.”One local resident who wrote to the Observer wished to praise the ‘fabulous job’ our local police force have done in patrolling the county in recent weeks.

“They are our unsung heroes doing an extraordinary job in extraordinary times. Not only have they prevented potentially infected outsiders from infesting our area, but have also stopped and arrested several drink and drug drivers, some of them even disqualified from driving - not to mention the pathetic drug dealers that they have also caught red handed,” stated the reader.

Ahead of the bank holiday the Welsh Minister for the Economy, Ken Skates had once again urged people to ‘stay home and stay local’.

“Although it goes against our normal welcoming nature, we’ve been asking people to please stay home. We want nothing more than to welcome visitors to enjoy our wonderful scenery and attractions but to protect our NHS and keep people safe – stay home,” he stated.

“We are all acutely aware of the impact Coronavirus is having on the tourism and hospitality sector. As the industry remains closed to help stop the spread of the virus, we are also doing all we can to help the industry at this difficult time.”

“Our tourism industry is at the very foundation of our economy and plays such an important part in many communities across Wales. Many businesses have adapted to help their communities and the NHS – by accommodating key workers and vulnerable people or running food delivery schemes for local hospitals.

“Although the sector has been hit hard by this crisis, it’s brilliant to see the welcome and caring nature of the industry still shining through – even these difficult times.”

“Along with the industry, I look forward to welcoming people back - but not now – later,” concluded the Minister.

“Again, another Bank Holiday weekend is behind us and I want to thank everyone for sticking to the lockdown rules and supporting each other,” said Pembrokeshire County Council’s leader Clr. David Simpson on Tuesday.