CCTV pictures have been released of people police want to identify following public disorder involving around 100 people spilling out on to the streets in Chippenham on Saturday night.

Increased police patrols will be in place in the town centre this weekend after they were called to disperse crowds of young people.

Officers were called to the town centre shortly before the 10pm licensed premises curfew following a number of reports of anti social behaviour and public order incidents.

Due to the number of people in the area, officers issued a Section 35 dispersal order which meant those in the area had to leave immediately.

No arrests were made and no fixed penalty notices were issued.

Police are gathering all available CCTV footage to help identify offenders, and say they will take action where appropriate.

Superintendent Chris Chammings said: “It was really disappointing to receive these reports of disorder in Chippenham on Saturday evening.

"The vast majority of people are adhering to the current social distancing rules in place to help stop the spread of coronavirus, and it is therefore especially disheartening to hear that some people have a complete disregard for the legislation which is in place to protect us all.

“It was thanks to the swift actions of the officers who attended the scene which meant no arrests were made and no fixed penalty notices were issued – I know this may seem frustrating news for some given the number of people in the area at the time. Please be reassured, that as part of our ongoing enquiries, anyone identified as flouting the legislation will be penalised.”

Inspector James Brain said: “This coming weekend, I want the local community of Chippenham to be reassured that we are doing all we can to prevent an incident like this taking place once again – we will be conducting increased patrols of the town centre and will have extra resources deployed where possible. We will continue to work closely with our partner agencies and licensed premises in the town to ensure the area remains a safe place to be.

“I’d like to remind the public of the importance of adhering to the covid legislation in place for the area – I fully appreciate the past few months have been an extremely difficult time for us all, including us as a police force, to navigate our way through, but we all need to play our part to protect one another. We remain in the midst of a global health pandemic and the actions of us all are now crucial in ensuring we do not enter a period of stricter lockdown restrictions.”

A spate of arson attacks also took place in Chippenham the same night.

A bus and a car were burnt out - but the incidents are not said to be linked to the crowd dispersal.

A black Honda Civic was set alight around 1.30am on Sunday morning in Chelwood Close, Chippenham.

Shortly afterwards a bin store was set on fire at a block of flats at Rudman Park around 2.10am.

Then a bus parked at the Olympiad Leisure Centre in Sadlers Mead was destroyed and the building nearby was damaged.

Wiltshire Police believe these three incidents are all linked.

Sgt Jansen Carter said: “Luckily, our colleagues from the Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service were able to control the fires at each location and no-one was hurt.

“These senseless acts of criminal damage will have caused thousands of pounds worth of damage including destroying a school bus."