Police have blasted the public for breaching coronavirus rules as Rivington area said to be "massively busy" today.

Chorley Police and Bolton Mountain Rescue Team urged people to stay away from Rivington today due to the difficult conditions.

Sergeant Paul Harrison from Chorley Police has taken to Facebook to criticise members of the public for "blatant breaches of the Covid rules and regulations" today after thousands turned up in the Rivington area.

He says police conducted checks on cars which showed people had turned up from as far as Liverpool, Sale, Southport, and Radcliffe to visit the area.

Sgt Harrison has said he is "appalled and hugely disappointed" and is appealing to people to use their common sense during this pandemic.

He posted on the Chorley Police Facebook page, saying: "We are appalled and hugely disappointed with the blatant breaches of the Covid rules and regulations in the Rivington area today.

"The area is massively busy with thousands of vehicles visiting the area. We have conducted a sample of 25 PNC checks on cars in the area and our findings are that over 90 per cent of cars are from out of the area.

"Cars from as far as Liverpool, Sale, Southport, Radcliffe and Worsley are in the area.

"This is a blatant breach of Covid regulations which state that under the current restrictions you must not leave your home unless you have a reasonable excuse.

"If you need to travel you should stay local - meaning avoiding travelling outside of your village, town or city where you live.

"We are appealing to people to stick to the guidelines and use some common sense .

"We are in the midst of a national pandemic and gatherings of this nature will undoubtedly lead to a national rise in Covid Cases. Fines will be forthcoming if this continues

"We appreciate that Rivington is a beautiful area but it will be here for a long time after the virus has gone."