People have been speaking out about the sacrifices they made in their own lives while Downing Street allegedly held gatherings which broke lockdown rules.

While we are still awaiting results of the inquiry this week, we looked back at the news around the time of the alleged parties and what Wiltshire residents were being told at the time.

The Conservative party’s “unauthorised gathering” Christmas party is said to have taken place on December 14.

At the same time extra precautionary measures were being taken at Wiltshire’s leisure centres, after 62 children were told they had to isolate following a staff member who worked at Five Rivers Health and Wellbeing Centre in Salisbury and the Calne Community Campus tested positive for coronavirus.

A Wiltshire Council spokesman said that this was to minimise further spreading the virus and all those affected were contacted. Both sites had to be deep cleaned.

At this point in Wiltshire, the county was under ‘Tier 2’ restrictions, where non-essential shops and places of worship could remain open, but hospitality venues could only stay open until 11pm with last orders at 10pm, with only those that serve substantial meals allowed to operate.

Wiltshire’s public health director, Kate Blackburn said at this point in time that case numbers had dropped in recent weeks but it was important remain be vigilant moving into the festive season.

She said: “Wiltshire Council continues to work hard to reduce cases and I want to thank people for taking responsibility and ensuring they follow all the necessary measures.”

People are being urged to follow the latest public health advice and reduce unnecessary social interactions during the build up to Christmas.

Wiltshire Police said that people in the county has been co-operating well with the current Tier 2 restrictions in Swindon and Wiltshire during the week in which Downing street allegedly held their gathering.

The official figures suggested that the vast majority of people were behaving responsibly and cautiously.

Deputy chief constable Paul Mills said: “At the moment both Wiltshire and Swindon remain in Tier 2 restrictions and, although we know the Government will be reviewing the Tiers later this week, we do not know what the situation will be locally.

“However, no matter what the government announces, our local public health officials have made it clear that we need to remain cautious and vigilant as we approach Christmas.

“It is critical people follow the basics of hands, space and face to limit the risk.”