Police in Northern Ireland say they will work closely with gardaí over the Easter holiday weekend to restrict cross border travel.

The PSNI says there will be a joint effort by both police forces to ensure as many people as possible stay at home.

Police on both sides of the border are concerned that large numbers of people from Northern Ireland will attempt to travel to holiday homes and caravan parks in the Republic, particularly in Co Donegal.

The PSNI will also be stepping up patrols and checkpoints on roads to major beauty spots, parks and seaside resorts across Northern Ireland.

Local councils have urged people to stay away from popular holiday break destinations like Antrim's north coast, which includes the Giants Causeway, and the seaside towns of Newcastle and Bangor in Co Down.

The coronavirus lockdown has been in place in Northern Ireland for more than 2 weeks now but the PSNI has yet to issue a single fine to anyone for breaching the restrictions.

It comes as video yesterday showed a long tailback of traffic on the N11 after gardaí were given additional powers to restrict movements in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.

7.30pm. Traffic is bumper to bumper on the N11 South, heading towards Wicklow & Wexford. Imagine the cost and time of Gardai used, in having to set up road checks, because some people cannot seem to bear respecting our #COVID19 travel restrictions. Shameful. pic.twitter.com/CHJBddE188
— Des Cahill (@sportsdes) April 8, 2020

From midnight on 27 March until 12 April everybody must stay at home except in specific circumstances.

On Tuesday, Minister for Health Simon Harris signed regulations to give gardaí the power to enforce Covid-19 restrictions.

Yesterday gardaí launched a nationwide policing operation to discourage people from leaving their homes and travelling to holiday locations over the Easter weekend.

Additional checkpoints are to be placed on the main routes out of the cities and on roads to the coast.