Night-time street marshals are to be deployed in Falmouth soon to support residents and businesses as we come out of lockdown.

The teams will be in place in various towns across Cornwall between 6pm and midnight on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Working closely with Cornwall Council's Covid Enforcement and Public Health teams and Devon and Cornwall Police, Covid marshals will give advice and support to businesses and members of the public on the necessity of social distancing and the latest covid-related restrictions.

The marshals will mostly work in pairs and will travel between different towns, depending on where they are needed most.

There will also be extra support in the daytime. Up to 20 Covid compliance advisors are being recruited to support businesses understand and implement the latest rules.

This crucial work has been funded by a £305,000 grant that was awarded to Cornwall Council by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to support additional compliance and enforcement activities.

The grant will also be used to provide additional monitoring of CCTV systems. This will enable resources to be directed to areas if problems arise.

Cllr Rob Nolan, portfolio holder for Environment and Public Protection at Cornwall Council, said:

"These measures will help the night-time economy reopen safely in the run-up to Christmas.

"Businesses are working really hard to adjust to the latest rules and we will continue to work with them and support them as they welcome back customers.

"Compliance levels are high in Cornwall and this has helped us stay in Tier 1 – the lowest level - but we cannot be complacent. We ask that people follow the measures in place and help keep Cornish communities safe."

Covid night-time marshals will be patrolling Penzance, St Ives, Helston, Camborne, Redruth, Truro, St Austell, Newquay, Falmouth, Launceston, Bude, Wadebridge, Bodmin, Liskeard and Saltash.

Other towns may be included where public health and protection risks present.

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