THAMES Valley Police officers are being reminded to look after their mental health if they are off work self-isolating.

Vulnerable people have been forced to stay at home during the coronavirus crisis to protect themselves. Others have to do the same if they may have come into contact with anybody who has symptoms.

Everybody else is allowed to leave their homes under a list of very restricted purposes to halt the spread of the virus.

But the chairman of the Thames Valley Police Federation said this could be tough for officers who wanted to be on the frontline protecting their communities.

Craig O’ Leary said: “We’re not able to go out, and we’re not able to lead the lives that we’ve been used to leading.

“That will undoubtedly affect people’s health and wellbeing by having those restrictions placed upon them.”

The federation insisted that providing the correct support to officers was an essential part of ensuring they stayed well, both physically and mentally, whether they are working or in self-isolation.

Mr O’ Leary added: “We’re doing everything we can in terms of signposting officers to mental health charities. There are all sorts of excellent content been put out there by MIND and others that we are making sure that we direct our members to, and just raising that awareness to let them know that there is help out there.

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"There are some really useful tips out there for officers who are isolating at home with their families. We would encourage our members to make use of those websites and the content that they provide.”