A visually impaired woman was coughed at after asking a man to adhere to the new social distancing guidelines in Melksham yesterday evening.
The woman was walking her dog in Halifax Road when she asked a man to keep his distance – she was subsequently coughed at, causing her upset and distress, before the man left the scene.
Police are now treating this as a hate crime incident and are appealing to anyone with information to get in touch.
Chief Constable Pritchard added: “These (type of) incidents are absolutely disgraceful and completely unacceptable. They show that not only are people flouting the rules but they are going out of their way to make others feel extremely distressed.
“The death toll for the country has now reached 4,313, with a total of 708 confirmed deaths yesterday alone. This is absolutely tragic – I would urge you all to remember that these rules are in place for a reason and that reason is to save lives.
“These are clearly very unsettling and worrying times for everybody – I want to reassure you that officers will continue to take a common sense approach and they will always engage with people to understand individual circumstances – however, enforcement will be used where it is necessary.”
