Take care when visiting the Lake District and respect the rules is the message from Cumbria’s multi-agency Local Resilience Forum.

In recent weekends most people have heeded messages to postpone their trips and this has greatly helped reduce the pressure on local facilities and communities. But as the county starts to move slowly back to welcoming visitors, people who do want to visit are being urged to observe social distancing and ensure they do not break the law by staying overnight.

While across the area most shops and visitor attractions are closed, some are beginning to open with safety measures in place and public toilets and car parks are back in operation.

Advising people to be considerate Richard Leafe, chief executive at the Lake District National Park Authority, said: “As we begin to welcome visitors back to the Lake District, I implore people to show care and consideration for everyone who lives and works here.

“If you do visit, please use a car park, don’t light barbecues and take your litter home when you leave.

“Following these simple steps means we can all continue to enjoy the many health and wellbeing benefits of the National Park.”

Colin Cox, Cumbria’s director of Public Health, said: “I continue to urge people to keep their Lake District plans on hold as we grapple with the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak in the county. I understand that people may feel their individual visit won’t cause a problem, but when thousands of people have the same idea then that has the potential to create genuine issues.”