GWENT Police officers will be visible and proactive to prevent gatherings to celebrate New Year's Eve tonight.

Chief Constable Pam Kelly has asked Gwent residents “to do the right thing for their community and celebrate differently this year by staying home.”

The force would be keeping a “visible presence” across Gwent this evening, Chief Constable Kelly added.

READ MORE:

“As we have been since the start of lockdown, we’ll be using a number of engagement and enforcement options to protect our communities,” said a police spokesman.

“Officers have and will continue to carry out proactive operations to encourage people to take responsibility and follow the guidance to help limit the spread of the virus.

“However, our message is clear for the minority that flout the restrictions - we will take enforcement action.”

A number of fixed penalty notices have been issued for breaching coronavirus regulations in the past few days including for people travelling without a reasonable excuse.

These include people travelling into Wales from England in search of snow, and a person who had been in isolation for two weeks and drove to Bristol for a day trip.

“We know this is a very difficult time for all and we thank members of our community for their continued support as we all work together to keep everyone safe,” said a spokesman. “We all have a part to play, we will continue to do our very best to protect and reassure our communities.”