DORSET Police will not be making changes to its enforcement of travel during the coronavirus lockdown despite fresh guidance from national police leaders.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and College of Policing (CoP) have issued new advice for forces across the country.

In relation to exercise, the document, titled “what constitutes a reasonable excuse to leave the place where you live”, lists driving to the countryside for a walk as “reasonable” if “far more time” is spent walking than driving.

But it adds that driving for a “prolonged period with only brief exercise” is not reasonable.

Despite this, Dorset Police said it is not changing its advice on travelling, citing that government advice remains the same to prevent the spread of coronavirus, to save lives and to protect the NHS.

A force spokesperson told the Daily Echo: “There has been much discussion around what the legislation does and doesn’t specifically prohibit.

“The legal aspects of the legislation are based upon whether a person’s actions are reasonable or not. Officers will continue to make individual judgements based on the specific circumstances presented to them.”

The key to making social distancing work is for everyone to be reasonable, the spokesperson said.

They added: “If you can exercise with a run or a walk near your home, it is reasonable for you to do so.

“Our interpretation is that it is not reasonable, for the majority, to drive miles to a specific place such as a beauty spot. It is also not within the spirit of what we are trying to achieve if you drive from the north of the county to the coast for surfing, regardless of whether that is “lawful” or not.”

Other areas covered by the NPCC and CoP document includes telling police to stop people “home-working” in parks or sitting on a public bench for long periods of time and that people can travel to a friend’s address for a cooling-off period “following arguments at home”.

As reported earlier this week, Dorset Police issued just 23 fines for breaching “lockdown” measures between March 27 and April 13.

However, deputy chief constable David Lewis said this was a “vindication” of its commitment to engaging with people before taking stronger action.

The force said officers will continue to use to discretion and police with consent.

Meanwhile, BCP Council said it would not be changing its approach to closing car parks, including those along the seafront.

Councillor Vikki Slade, leader of BCP Council, said: “It is really important to continue to discourage people from travelling to popular locations such as the beach. With the continued lockdown, we believe it would not be sending out the right message to open car parks during this time.

“It would risk attracting high volumes of people to go out which is not conducive to social distancing which remains a requirement to fight the spread of Covid19 and reduce the number of deaths.”