THE people of Sussex are being let down by visitors from elsewhere in their efforts to stop the spread of coronavirus, a police chief has revealed.

Hundreds of fines have been issued by Sussex Police to people flagrantly flouting social distancing rules, with the “vast majority” being dished out to tourists travelling to the South East coast for a breath of fresh air, Deputy Chief Constable Jo Shiner said in a police briefing this week.

“We have issued 348 fines in the lockdown period for breaching the regulations introduced five weeks ago,” she said.

“The vast majority were to people who live outside the county travelling long distances for pleasure.”

She said officer had encountered people from “up north and from London” who “wanted a breath of fresh sea air on Brighton’s beach”.

“That is clearly not acceptable as that is, clearly, a very long journey,” DCC Shiner said.

The force has found the issues around breaches in social distancing are almost exclusively seen in the county’s coastal beauty spots, including Brighton and Hove’s seafront.

The problem has not been encountered inland in areas such as Crawley and Horsham.

As a result, flouting hotspots have been identified and a greater police presence will be seen in these areas to prevent people from contravening the regulations.

The guidelines urge people to stay at home whenever possible, only leaving the house for essential trips such as food shopping and picking up medication, as well as one bout of daily exercise.

DCC Shiner said: “In the same way we would do in relation to normal policing, we understand where our hotspots are and we do targeted patrols.

“Local knowledge, more than anything else, means our officers and our Police Community Support Officers know where these are.

“Hove Lawns, the seafront, beauty spots such as Devil’s Dyke and Ditchling Beacon, are places which people would go to.

“We are putting additional patrols in those places.

“By and large, that’s reflected in relation to where we are issuing the fixed penalty notices.”