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Police are setting up road blocks on the streets to enforce social isolation.

Officers across the country now have the power to pull cars over and ask their drivers about the nature of their journeys.

They can then send the motorists home and issue them with a fine.

On Wednesday a family-of-five from Merseyside who arrived in North Wales for a day out at the seaside were stopped by police and told to return home, The Liverpool Echo reported.

Police from Devon and Cornwall have begun stopping drivers who have been out on the roads flouting rules and North Yorkshire Police have also announced that they will be setting up road blocks.

Have you been stopped by a coronavirus checkpoint? Email webnews@trinitymirror.com

(Image: Penzance Police / SWNS)

So far the check points have been established in Plymouth, Devon, and in several places across Cornwall.

A total of 150 vehicles have been checked in Penzance, Hayle, and St Ives to find out whether their journeys were essential.

Plymouth D Section Response took to Twitter to share a picture of their road-block.

(Image: Plymouth D Section Response/SWNS)

They tweeted: "We are continuing our work again this morning with road calming measures and enquiries ref essential travel, consider this now the norm.

"Officers have also deployed to various supermarkets to assist with queuing flows and social distancing."

North Yorkshire Police's Assistant Chief Constable Mike Walker explained why the measures were being taken.

He said: "The new and significant restrictions announced by the Prime Minister on Monday evening spell out very clearly what each and every one of us must do to save lives.

(Image: Plymouth D Section Response/SWNS) (Image: Plymouth D Section Response/SWNS)

"The message is clear and the warning stark. Stay at home, save lives.

"These are the lives of the people we know and love. Our partners, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, children, grandparents.

"You may never be in such a position again where your simple actions will lead directly to saving lives."

The force said the checkpoints will be unannounced and could appear anywhere any time.

In London groups of people have been broken up by police for gathering in Hyde Park.

(Image: Getty Images)

The Liverpool family's big day out came to an abrupt end when police stopped them on the road.

In a post on Facebook, the West Conwy Coastal unit said: "Officers are out patrolling and it is pleasing to see that most people are sticking to the Government advice.

"But Inspector Daf Curry and PCSO Sara Owen did speak to a family of five who’d travelled from Merseyside to Llanfairfechan for a day at the seaside, to advise them this was not essential travel and to go home."

In Somerset the Wellington Police team are telling people not to drive to locations to exercise or walk their dogs.

Instead they are to do so close to their homes.

In the same county concern was raised about an elderly group of care home residents who were spotted in a minibus.

They were being driven from a residential care home in Taunton, Somerset to Minehead.

"Please be assured that we are taking our responsibilities to our residents extremely seriously, particularly in light of the current coronavirus outbreak," a spokesperson for the care home said.

(Image: Devon Live WS)

"The residents concerned live together and are isolated together with the staff who also went on the drive.

"It was an attempt by our staff team to help residents achieve a change of scenery in a safe and controlled way after weeks of being isolated from friends and family visits, indoors.

"It was an attempt by our staff team to help residents achieve a change of scenery in a safe and controlled way after weeks of being isolated from friends and family visits, indoors.

"The residents did not leave the bus for the duration of the trip and did not come into contact with any person who does not live or work at the care home, and therefore there was no risk of infection."