The Greenwich Tunnel was forced to close to the public on Sunday evening and parks are also now at risk after a large crowds continued to gather over the weekend, defying the lockdown to picnic and sunbathe.

Despite the vast majority of people respecting social distancing and lockdown rules, a number of 'covidiots' were slammed on social media after ignoring continued pleas from nearly every corner of society to stay at home.

Daily exercise is permitted, but photos of Hampstead Heath, Battersea and Greenwich park showed people laying down in the sunshine, even though sunbathing is not listed among “essential” activities.

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Greenwich Council leader Danny Thorpe angrily tweeted out after reports of some people gathering, sunbathing and picnicking in parks across Greenwich.

In a plea to follow the guidelines, Mr Thorpe said he did not want to be forced to close any of the borough's parks "because a few #COVIDIOTS are doing the wrong thing."

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Massive queue to get into Greenwich Park this morning <a href="https://t.co/2xddYCLtAD">pic.twitter.com/2xddYCLtAD</a></p>— Sam Hodges (@SamHodges) <a href="https://twitter.com/SamHodges/status/1246703590951071744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 5, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The councillor advised people who saw people doing the wrong thing to call 101 immediately, whilst Greenwich Police added that online reporting tools were available.

The Greenwich Foot Tunnel, linking the Cutty Sark to Island Gardens, closed on Sunday, April 5, to a high number of people using the tunnel, including people on bikes and in large groups.

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Greenwich Council said they were "left with no choice" but to close the foot tunnel temporarily "to ensure public safety during the Covid-19 crisis.

The tunnel, used by 1.5 million people a year, will open during weekdays, but will likely be repeated for the foreseeable future, including Good Friday to Easter Monday.

Cllr Thorpe said: "Whilst this is a very regrettable decision, we don’t have any choice today as there are just too many people."

Police have been routinely patrolling parks and streets, enforcing rules where needed, including Greenwich West Police who were forced to disperse a number of people picnicking and sunbathing in St Alfege Park.

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Sadiq Khan yesterday also weighed in on reports of people sunbathing, picnicking and congregating in London parks, warning that whilst green spaces are a lifeline for many Londoners, they will only remain open if people follow the social distancing guidelines.

"Londoners, I couldn’t be clearer: you must stay at home and not leave unless it’s absolutely necessary to do so. People are able to exercise once a day, staying as local as possible and not gathering in groups, but keep two metres distance at all times.

"London parks should be kept open wherever possible and I’m working with the Met Police and local authorities to see what else we can do to enforce social distancing in parks."

There has also been a lot of praise for the vast majority of the population for following the guidelines, staying indoors and saving lives.

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