ESSEX Police are encouraging residents to continue to come forward and report breaches of coronavirus legislation.

Following two high profile incidents over the weekend in the county, the force says it is continuing to act on information from the public, and has encouraged residents to come forward and report concerns directly to them.

In a video posted on the police's Facebook page, Assistant Chief Constable said a low number of coronavirus fines had been handed out across the county, but reports were investigated.

He said: "Last month there were over 2,000 instances in which the police in Essex had to speak to people about following the rule of six and face mask regulations.

"We have had to issue very few fixed penalty notices. This is because it simply hasn't been necessary and I would like to thank everyone for doing their bit to beat coronavirus.

"However on Sunday we received reports of a large party in mid Essex. Our team responded straight away and we found over 80 people at a planned event. As a result we issued the county's first £10,000 fine.

"In a separate incident we issued 32 penalty notices of £200 each to young people who had ignored warnings not to gather in groups of more than six.

"I want you to know police officers, me included, are following the measures designed to keep Essex safe.

"If you see something which is clearly and blatantly wrong, you can report it to us using our digital tool for Covid breaches. It is online and only takes a few minutes."

Reports can be made via an online tool on the police website.

To report activity, you can access the tool here.

You can watch the video here.