Warm weather and spring conditions are likely to be on their way in the coming days and weeks, and whilst it may seem tempting to head to your local park to enjoy the sunny conditions, local people are urged to follow the government rules on social distancing at all times.

In fact, to help stop the spread of COVID-19, save lives and help the NHS, residents are asked to avoid local parks and green spaces.

Exercise and activity are essential for all our wellbeing during this period and there are lots of ideas for exercises at home on the NHS website that you could try as an alternative to visiting your local park.

If anyone does use local parks for daily exercise they must ensure they stick to the government’s social distancing advice and must not gather in groups.

The council’s park rangers and Parkguard and Kingdom security officers will be patrolling parks and playgrounds, outdoor gyms, tennis courts, skate parks, as well as other park facilities in the borough have been closed to help limit the spread of COVID-19.

Local people are also reminded that they should keep dogs on leads at all times in accordance with the Mayor of London’s rules on stopping the spread of Covid-19.

Council leader Julian Bell, in his Leader’s Notes blog, asked people to resist the ‘natural inclination to go out to our parks and our green spaces’ on sunny days.

He said: “I would ask you to think and not do that unless you really, really need to.

“Ealing has already got one of the highest infection rates for COVID-19. We need to protect our NHS so that it can look after the most vulnerable.

“First of all, I would ask you to use your own gardens if you have them and try to stay at home but, if you feel you need to go out, then follow the social distancing guidelines, act responsibly and don’t do anything that would cause this virus to spread.

“Unless we act in this way now, we will have to close all of the parks and stop all access to our parks and green spaces.”