Social distancing breaches at beaches, raves and protests in recent weeks have not yet led to an uptick in coronavirus infections, according to the chief scientific adviser.

Sir Patrick Vallance said there was still a chance infections could rise as a result of people failing to obey the rules, but that none had yet been observed.

Asked during a Downing Street press conference if there was any evidence the breaches had led to an uptick, Sir Patrick said: “We haven’t seen any from these events yet, that doesn’t mean that we won’t but we haven’t yet.

Bournemouth beach
Bournemouth was flooded with visitors in the hot weather (Andrew Matthews/PA)

“The same has been true in other countries where outdoor events have taken place, there hasn’t yet been any indication we’ve had an uptick but it is obviously something that needs to be looked for.”

Last week Bournemouth declared a major incident when its beach was crowded as thousands of people descended on the town.

And concerns were raised over the Black Lives Matter protests last month, which saw thousands of people take to the streets across the UK.

Police have also had to break up several illegal raves in recent weeks.