LANCASHIRE Police have stepped up their campaign to educate the public on the importance of face coverings by modelling one such mask on police dog PD Kato.

Officers will also be on patrol throughout the weekend ensuring face masks are worn in appropriate settings.

They also hope public information campaigns will help people understand why the measures have been put in place.

A police spokesperson said: "If PD Kato can wear a mask, so can you!"

They added: "Just like throughout this pandemic, we'll be taking a common sense approach and only enforcing if we need to."

"Be kind to each other and only call us if you need a specific police response.

"We appreciate some people are medically exempt from wearing coverings and others may have invisible illnesses, so don't call us if you see individuals without one.

"We need our phone lines free to be there for those who need us most!"