A FRESH plea for everybody to play their part to help save lives during the coronavirus pandemic has been issued after disturbing figures revealed people in East Lancashire are leaving their homes more than the national average.

The leader of Blackburn with Darwen council Mohammed Khan has expressed his disappointment with those still leaving their homes without good reason, pleading for the public to ‘play their part’ in saving not only their own lives, but the lives of others too.

Cllr Khan issued his message after technology giant Google released data gathered by tracking people’s movements through their phones during the coronavirus pandemic.

Nationally, the figures revealed that visits to shops, parks and workplaces have fallen by as much as 85 per cent, however the data for Blackburn with Darwen shows people are still moving around more than the national average.

Cllr Khan said: “I’m extremely disappointed to hear this. Public health professionals, the authorities, the government and the council are all working so hard to send out the correct message and save lives.

“I know people will still be moving around to go to work and do the shopping but without a valid reason, people shouldn’t be leaving their homes.

“I haven’t been out of my house for two weeks, but I’m still hearing that groups of young people are out in Blackburn, driving around in their cars.

“My plea to them is to play their part – save your own life and those of other people.”

The reports use data from people who have opted in to storing their location history with Google to help illustrate the degree to which people are adhering to government instructions to shelter in place and, where possible, work from home.

The COVID-19 Community Mobility Report, dated April 2, showed a decline of 71 per cent of people in the borough using public transport such as buses and trains compared to national decline of 75 per cent. Likewise with trips to the shops, where the national average shows a 46 per cent drop compared to 42 per cent in the borough.

Meanwhile across Lancashire as a whole, the number of people still visiting parks and recreational spaces has only fallen by 39 per cent, compared to 52 per cent nationally.

The warning comes as the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in Blackburn with Darwen rose by eight, according to latest figures.

It means the total number of people to have tested positive in the borough is 71.

Elsewhere, Lancashire's cases have also increased dramatically to 838 which is up by 112 on the previous day's statistics, which stood at 726.

Further data compiled by health app Evergreen revealed those living in Burnley are among the most likely in the country to break the lockdown rules, following a survey conducted of 26,700 users.

Leader of Burnley Council Cllr Charlie Briggs said it ‘wasn’t nice to hear’ that people his borough were flouting the rules.

He said: “The sooner people start complying with the regulations, the sooner we will all be able to go back to our normal lives, people have got to start understanding that.

“Do what you’ve been told, this virus is highly contagious and so long as people don’t do as they are told, we will never be rid of it.”