Police officers have been present at Piccadilly train station today to check if journeys are ‘essential’ or not.
British Transport Police tweeted the news that officers were present at Manchester Piccadilly, speaking to travellers before allowing them through into the station.
BTP said officers are at ‘all entrances’.
As part of the UK’s national lockdown, only trips which are deemed absolutely necessary are permitted.
By around 10am this morning, BTP officers confirmed they had refused travel to twelve people for ‘non-essential reasons’. The tweet reads: “Today we are helping beat this virus by ensuring only essential travel from Piccadilly Railway Station.
“Police positioned at all entrances to Piccadilly ensuring only necessary travel. So far around 12 people refused travel for non-essential reasons.”
It comes after authorities crack down on rule-breaking in recent weeks, with Greater Manchester Police issuing 190 fines for lockdown breaches in just a single week in January.
Councillor Nigel Murphy, Deputy Leader of Manchester City Council, said then: “It is extremely frustrating that despite every warning we are still seeing people break rules. I appreciate how difficult it has been for everyone over the past year but this is not an excuse to put people’s lives at risk.
“We are working with our colleagues at Greater Manchester Police as well as local housing providers to prevent, and if necessary, punish breaches of Covid-19 guidelines.
“We have the power to close properties for up to six months and prevent people from entering; this is something we have done before and will not hesitate to do again.
“The Covid vaccine is being rolled out in greater numbers by the day, a sign that one day we will soon be back to living normal lives.
“But, we are still faced with extremely high rates of Covid infection and sadly, further deaths. I implore people to do the right thing by staying at home, and not put themselves at risk of catching this virus.”
You can see the government’s national lockdown rules regarding travel here.
