POLICE officers are now moving more quickly to issue fines to those who breach lockdown rules, the Government has said.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said the "horrifying" death toll underlined the need for people to follow the coronavirus rules.

She told a Downing Street press conference this evening, Tuesday, that "most of the public" are complying with the restrictions.

But, "a minority of people are putting the health of the nation at risk" by not following the rules.

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick has since spoken to councils about the role that they have to play in enforcing the rules, she said.

Police officers are now moving more quickly to issue fines where people are clearly breaching coronavirus regulations, after nearly 45,000 fixed penalty notices have been issued across the UK.

Priti Patel added: “My message today to anyone refusing to do the right thing is simple: if you do not play your part our selfless police officers – who are out there risking their own lives every day to keep us safe – they will enforce the regulations.

“And I will back them to do so, to protect our NHS and to save lives.”

Martin Hewitt, chairman of the National Police Chiefs' Council, also appeared at the press briefing to urge people to stay at home.

He said he makes no apology for police issuing fines to a ‘stubborn number of people’ who refuse to abide by the regulations.

More police officers will now be on patrol.

A series of recent examples of "irresponsible behaviour" included a boat party in Hertfordshire with more than 40 people, and a minibus full of people from different households travelling from Cheltenham into Wales for a walk.

The Government said a further 1,243 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Tuesday, which brings the UK total to 81,960.

As of 9am today, Tuesday, there had been a further 45,533 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK.

It brings the total number of cases in the UK to 3,118,518.