SHONA Haslam is urging parents to keep track of their children after a claim that some teenagers broke social distancing rules at the weekend.

A mum-of-two reported seeing large groups of teenagers breaching lockdown guidance in Peebles on Friday evening (May 29).

Now the leader of Scottish Borders Council has warned residents about the risk of causing a “second spike” of coronavirus cases.

Mrs Haslam, a Peebles councillor, said: “I would simply ask all parents to make sure that you know where your kids are and who they are with.”

The updated lockdown guidance, which came into force on May 29, allows Scots to meet one other household outdoors, as long as the gathering contains no more than eight people in total and everyone remains two metres apart.

The witness account from Friday described several large groups of teenagers gathering along the river, apparently in breach of the ‘one other household’ instruction – as well as the two-metre rule.

Asked to comment on the episode, Mrs Haslam said: “Unfortunately over the weekend a small number of young people were being disruptive.

“I have spoken to the police and they have increased patrols over the weekend and these will continue.

“I would simply ask all parents to make sure that you know where your kids are and who they are with.

“It is really hard for teenagers not seeing their friends for such a long time, but this virus could easily resurge and we all have to stay alert to ensure that we don’t get a second spike.”

Mrs Haslam added: “The vast majority of our young people are fantastic, sticking by the rules and engaging with their schools and communities.

“We must never fall into the trap of tarring them all with the same brush.

“So [a] massive shout out to all of our young people who are continuing their learning through their schools, and helping contain this virus.”

Mrs Haslam’s Tweeddale East colleague Robin Tatler recommended that constituents phone the police on 101 if they spot people breaking lockdown rules.

Mr Tatler said: “It is disappointing to hear that some people in Peebles are acting in an irresponsible way during this difficult time especially as most are not.

“It is important that anyone who witnesses behaviour like this or any other anti-social behaviour should report this using the 101 number.

“There were a variety of incidents in the town over the past weekend, and I will be asking the Community Action Teams to respond to this.”

Police Scotland’s Chief Constable Iain Livingstone said on Friday that officers would encourage compliance with the updated lockdown guidance.

He said: "We are asking people to take personal responsibility to do the right thing and remember the purpose of these measures is to aid the collective effort to protect the NHS and save lives by preventing the virus from spreading.”

He added: "We want people to enjoy our outdoor spaces safely and our officers will be robustly tackling crime and anti-social behaviour in our communities."