IT was just last month when my reaction was an amused shudder when I saw Chinese police posting footage from drones shaming their citizens for being out in public during the lockdown.

Like so much about these crazy and extraordinary times, I would never have expected the police in Derbyshire to be employing the same methods used proudly by a totalitarian regime against Brits taking their dog for a stroll.

I thought it was an elaborate internet joke when I saw the same force had filled a beautiful blue lagoon near Buxton with black ink to put off walkers visiting.

Then over the past 24 hours some overzealous coppers tried to stop the sale of Easter eggs.

A non-essential item, they reckoned.

Hardly! I can think of nothing more important than stuffing our faces with chocolate given we’re still likely to be quarantined by Good Friday.

But when I really realised some forces are using the current trauma as a power trip was when I saw the video of Gemma Migdal, the manager at Grodzinski’s Bakery in Edgware.

She was sensibly and responsibly marking the concrete outside her eatery with spray chalk to ensure customers practiced social distancing before entering the store.

But a member of the Metropolitan Police threatened to issue Gemma a ticket and take her to court.

“The law doesn’t change. I don’t create the rules. It’s criminal damage,” the officer argued.

Not only were his actions a complete waste of time, his enforcement of a minor graffiti law meant customers to the shop were more likely to be at risk.

So, while it’s very unfortunate given the brilliant job the vast majority of the police are doing, it’s proof there is overreach going on.

The public need to applauded for the brilliant job we are doing to enforce social distancing too.

The Chief Scientific Officer, Sir Patrick Vallance, said as much at yesterday’s Downing Street briefing where he revealed graphs showing our use of public transport and cars has plummeted.

The entire country is in lockdown. The vast majority of the public are respecting the rules that have instituted an unimaginable change to day to day life. It’s really tough and having a massive impact on mental health.

But we need to remember that our right to leave the house to exercise or drive in our own car remains intact.

It’s important not to lose the goodwill of folk, which is why it’s sensible police bosses are reported to be drawing up new guidelines that will warn individual forces not to overstep the mark when it comes to their lockdown enforcement powers.

Otherwise the former supreme court justice Lord Sumption might have a point when he suggests the UK is on the way to becoming a “police state”.

That’s not a legacy that a great liberal democracy like ours wants from the fight against coronavirus.

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