Lee Valley Regional Park is indefinitely closing all its car park on weekends in a bid to fight the spread of coronavirus.

Beginning this Bank Holiday weekend (Friday 10 – Mon 13 April) and on all future weekends and Bank Holidays until further notice, the authority will be close all its car parks.

The park authority says it has been left with “no option” but to close the car parks, due to the high volume of people travelling from afar to tits park.

A spokesperson said: “Too many people are driving to the park at peak times and not following Government advice to stay local and use open spaces near their homes.

“We have no option but to close our car parks on all Bank Holidays and weekends to limit the number of people coming to the park. Most of our visitors have behaved sensibly and considerately. However, some people have not followed social distancing rules or advice to stay local and some areas of the park have become too crowded.

“There are fewer issues on weekdays and we know that some people with mobility issues drive to the park to exercise and that, for them, the park is a lifeline, so we have taken the decision to keep car parks open at these times.

Lea Valley Regional Park did not rule out "further closures" if necessary.

The spokesperson added: “People must remember that the Government’s priority is to save lives, and that the best way to protect yourself and others from illness is to stay at home. Exercise is still important for people’s physical and mental wellbeing, so the Government has said people can leave their homes for one form exercise once a day.

“This can be, for example a run, walk or cycle – alone or with members of your household. When doing this, you should be minimising time spent outside of the home and ensuring you are two metres apart from anyone outside of your household. If you come to the park you must keep moving. Do not travel unnecessarily and do stay local.”

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