All Wiltshire Police enquiry offices have been temporarily closed in a move to protect the public, officers and staff amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Wiltshire Police made the decision to temporarily close their enquiry offices based on current government advice on social distancing and stay at home to fight Covid-19.

The temporary closure will also include police desks within the front counter services at the Wiltshire Council shared sites at Monkton Park, in Chippenham, and Bourne Hill, in Salisbury.

Wiltshire Council offices at these locations will remain open as a necessary point of contact for vulnerable people.

Instead, the police are urging people to contact them through other means such as 999 for emergencies or 101 for non-emergencies, their website, or by using the yellow phones outside their enquiry offices.

Chief constable Kier Pritchard said: “I want to reassure people that this is a temporary measure and I hope people will see that we have made this decision for very practical and safety-conscious reasons.

“This will not impact our visibility in your communities. Our police stations are still running as normal, and you will continue to see our Community Policing Teams out and about on patrol and responding to 999 and 101 calls.

“I want to thank you all for you continued support for Wiltshire Police. These are unprecedented times, and I know there will be challenges and uncertainty ahead, but we are committed to providing the very best service to the communities of Swindon and Wiltshire.”

Police and crime commissioner for Swindon and Wiltshire Angus Macpherson said: “Calling us or visiting the Wiltshire Police website is safer for everyone. Not only will it keep the public safe, but it will allow us to redeploy those staff who usually work on a front counter, to a more critical role.”

Anyone with a pre-arranged, essential appointment at the police station can attend as normal but are asked to use the yellow phone outside to alert an officer or member of staff.