Videos shared in different languages to reach out to BAME communities

A selection of videos issued by police and councils in the East of England to help residents who's first language isn't English. Credit: ITV News Anglia

A number of our police forces and councils have recorded and shared videos in several different languages to get the public health message across to harder to reach communities.

A diverse mix of people live in our region, where English is not always their first language.

To help everyone understand the importance of keeping safe during the pandemic, Bedfordshire Police, Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough City Council have recorded messages in a range of languages.

They include Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, Urdu, Punjabi and Bengali.

Chief Inspector Hob Hoque, from Bedfordshire Police, is keen to get the message across as he knows the dangers of the virus only too well.

He was out on patrol in Luton on the day of his aunt's funeral. She died from Covid-19 last week.

ITV Anglia's reporter Rebecca Haworth followed Bedfordshire Police out on patrol in Bury Park in Luton.

Usually it is very busy, but people seemed to be adhering to the message of staying home.

However, in areas like Lincoln Road in Peterborough, which is home to a diverse community, the city council is concerned the lockdown message is not being fully understood.

Some members of the community in Luton, like Yaqub Hanif, who has lived there for 35 years, believes the government could be doing more.

Meanwhile local policing is now more important than ever, as every community needs to understand the severity of the current situation.