Devon and Cornwall Police were called out to investigate more than 250 Covid breaches within the space of eight and a half hours yesterday.

Control room supervisor Glenn Shuttleworth gave updates during his shift on duty yesterday afternoon, which began with 41 breaches being reported within just over an hour – and the number only grew.

By the end of his shift almost a third of the workload during that time had gone on dealing with reported breaches – a large number of which he said were related to people at holiday homes.

At 2.22pm he wrote on Twitter: "Late shift today. Just over an hour gone and 41 Covid breaches we need to attend already.

"Pretty much all people at holiday homes. Frustrating."

It was not even an hour later, at 3.19pm, that he gave an update to say: "Over 50 now and rising."

By the end of the shift, just over eight and a half hours later, it had risen to five times that amount.

In a concluding tweet Mr Shuttleworth wrote at 9.46pm: "Shift over. A quick tally for the day and we had over 250 Covid breaches which represents almost a third of the workload."

He does not specify the breakdown between Cornwall and Devon callouts.

Rules in this third lockdown, which were updated on the Government website on Monday, state that you cannot leave your home or the place where you are living for holidays or overnight stays, unless you have a reasonable excuse for doing so.

This means that holidays in the UK and abroad are not allowed – which also includes staying in a second home or caravan, if that is not your primary residence.

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The only exceptions to this, which mean you can stay overnight away from your home, are if you:

? are visiting your support bubble

? are unable to return to your main residence

? need accommodation while moving house

? need accommodation to attend a funeral or related commemorative event

? require accommodation for work purposes or to provide voluntary services

? are a child requiring accommodation for school or care

? are homeless, seeking asylum, a vulnerable person seeking refuge, or if escaping harm (including domestic abuse)

? are an elite athlete or their support staff or parent, if the athlete is under 18 and it is necessary to be outside of the home for training or competition

And anyone who was already on holiday when lockdown was announced just under a week ago on Monday, January 4, was told that they must return home as soon as practical.