People in Clydebank are being urged to call the police whenever they think social distancing rules are being breached.

The plea comes from Police Scotland’s area commander for West Dunbartonshire, Chief Inspector Scott Carlin – who says that while enforcement of the lockdown legislation is a “last resort”, his officers won’t hesitate to clamp down where people are persistently and blatantly breaking the rules.

Chief Inspector Carlin told the Post that his officers had seen evidence of people travelling from distance to exercise and even socialise in the area’s beauty spots.

And he said he wanted people to view the coronavirus legislation exactly the same as any other laws, and to report suspected breaches to the police.

“When I go home from work I shop locally and exercise from home,” he said, “and when I see others not doing that I find it incredibly frustrating.

“ If we all obey the instructions, we will get back to some form of normality sooner.

“Would I expect people to call police if they see blatant contravention of the regulations? Absolutely. It’s no different to any other legislation. If people are behaving illegally I want, and would expect, to know about it.

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“When people phone 101 just now in relation to social distancing, the people who manage our calls will discuss what the issue is, and give appropriate advice and guidance.

“But could this frustration boil over into anti-social behaviour, disorder or violent crime, for example? We clearly don’t want that to happen.“Sometimes all it takes is for police to explain.

“Enforcement is a last resort, but if people will not comply, we are left with no other option, and we will take enforcement action.

“But our main focus is on education and influencing people’s behaviour.”

Police Scotland revealed last week that 542 people in the West Dunbartonshire and Argyll divisional area were dispersed between March 27 and April 23 after officers spoke to them about breaching lockdown rules.

That number is the second highest for any of Scotland’s police divisions – but Ch Insp Carlin said he did not see the high number as a negative.

“That’s the result of police engaging with people, encouraging them to comply, and they’ve quite happily moved on,” he said.

“That’s not reflecting occasions where people are flouting the law.

“If people don’t want to listen, we will enforce.

“But would we rather people walked away? Absolutely.”