SCOTLAND’s top police officer has called on people not to risk breaking travel restrictions as he warned that the force will enforce “blatant breaches” of the rules as patrols are ramped up.

Chief Constable of Police Scotland, Iain Livingstone, stressed he has “authorised a doubling of our operational presence on the roads in the border country” as well as “an increase in patrols across the whole of Scotland” to put off people from flouting the law.

Travel rules, which are legal requirements, have not changed. Those in tier 3 or tier 4 areas are unable to travel to other local authority areas – and rules will be put into action across all of mainland Scotland from Boxing Day.

Nicola Sturgeon acknowledged that the travel rules have not changed as cross-border travel is already illegal, but warned that “what has changed is the public health reasons for this has gone from strong to even stronger”.

She added: “It has been important to limit cross-border travel – it is much more important now because of the necessity to try to limit further importation of this new strain to Scotland.

“The biggest deterrent any of you should feel against travelling across the border right now is not fines, is not police enforcement – all of that is necessary and important – but it should be the risk of getting this virus.”

Mr Livingstone admitted that the £30 fines that officers can hand out to those breaking the law “hasn’t been a major driver in terms of people’s level of compliance” but called on the public to do the right thing in order to protect public health.

The rules and regulations being followed more strictly has become important with a mutated strain of Covid-19 being present in a handful of cases across the Central Belt – which can spread 70 per cent more easily.

Speaking at the daily coronavirus briefing, Mr Livingstone said: “I do not consider it appropriate, I do not consider it proportionate for officers to establish check points, road blocks to simply enforce these travel restrictions.

“In regard to the level of fines, our experience is that hasn’t been a major driver in terms of people’s level of compliance.

“There will be a significant increase in visible presence.”

He added: “I also expect there to be a reduction in the public being on the roads and moving around and therefore my expectation, my hope and my intent in terms of doubling the resources is actually you’ll see a really significant impact.

“If anybody has any sense that actually ‘I’m going to chance it because I want to do it’, what I would say is don’t do that – not because you might get stopped by the police although you might and we will be very visible, and we will be engaging with people who are on the move.

“Don’t chance it because you’re putting other people at risk.”