Ahead of the spring bank holiday weekend, South Wales Police & Crime Commissioner, Rt Hon Alun Michael, sent a message to the communities of South Wales:

“As we approach the bank holiday weekend, the vast majority of people are still sticking to the rules that are helping us to fight COVID-19 and my plea is for all of us to maintain that approach. I know it's frustrating when some people ignore the rules but those fools are a minority so let's not be tempted to say ‘if some people are ignoring the rules then why should I bother’ - there's a good reason.

“I'm appealing to the communities of South Wales to stick to the COVID-19 restrictions here in Wales; the message is still - Stay Home, Protect the NHS, Save Lives. Only go out for the reasons that have been set out in a very clear list and maintain social distancing at all times, when you are out of your home. If you’re in any doubt about what the priorities are, look at the simple summary list which is on the South Wales Police website.

“The good news is that most people do take notice when our police officers and PCSOs remind them what the rules are; our collective efforts have made a real difference, so let's all play our part in preventing the spread of the virus in Wales. The First Minister has praised the police for the way in which they've dealt with the restrictions, and he's praised the public, for the way that most people have behaved during this very difficult period.

“The daily business of policing involves all sorts of difficult issues. It involves tackling violence, dealing with robbery, dealing with car crime, dealing with domestic violence and abuse and child abuse. Those are all things that our police officers are dealing with, even during this period of the COVID-19 lockdown when they're, as members of our community, as worried about their families, their elderly relatives and yet they're going on, doing their job, keeping South Wales safe. So please don't make their job, any more difficult.

“This week, First Minister Mark Drakeford announced an increase in the fine levels for those who persistently break the rules that have been set down for our own protection. It's a powerful message, but the approach of our officers is still to engage, to encourage the public to comply and to use enforcement only as a last resort. If necessary, those enforcement powers will be used, but we don't want to, what we want to do is for us and our communities to be working together to fight this virus, so please continue to pay your part, all of us can do that.

“Diolch yn fawr - Thank you very much indeed.”