GWENT Police officers stopped 417 vehicles over the course of the bank holiday weekend with 52 people being advised to return home on one day alone.

They also say a number of social gatherings were dispersed peacefully.

The force says, however, that compared to the previous bank holiday weekend, it was a quieter few days.

“We are aware that we had a number of people that travelled to the force area, and 52 people were advised to return home on Saturday alone,” a Gwent Police spokesman said.

“Away from the roads, we responded to calls from members of the public about social gatherings and house parties taking place in the force area.

“Many of these incidents were resolved peacefully, with officers providing advice around social distancing and the current Welsh guidelines.”

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Ninety-one vehicles were stopped on Friday, 107 were stopped on Saturday, 123 on Sunday and 96 on Monday.

In the past week, Gwent Police officers have stopped visitors from Herefordshire and the West Midlands. The furthest visitors to the area came from Guildford, Surrey – 114 miles away.

“It was great to see the overwhelming majority of people responding positively to our officers and members of the public that we spoke to were understanding as to why they were stopped,” the spokesman added.

“Our officers saw a number of people turning around immediately after seeing our presence on the roads.

“While it is encouraging to see that the message is getting across to people, we would like to reemphasise the message of the Welsh Government and the first minister: please visit Wales later. Now is not the time.”

Since March 27, the Gwent force has issued 71 fixed penalty notices to members of the public in connection with breaches of the lockdown rules.