Police have responded to criticism after a picture showing a large group of officers seemingly not wearing masks or abiding by social distancing rules was shared on social media.

The image shared on Snapchat was taken on January 26 by the Shell garage on Nunnery Park.

A spokesman for West Mercia Police said: "Our officers are expected to be socially distanced when performing their duties but of course for operational reasons sometimes this just isn’t possible.

"Frontline officers have to work closely together for their whole shift, travelling in vehicles together to attend incidents.

"We will continue to remind our officers about adhering to the guidelines as best as they can whilst performing vital duties on the frontline to tackle crime and keep the public safe."

The person who posted the photo said: "I just don`t think it's acceptable especially if the public were to do this they would get a fine. So where is their punishment or fine."

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