Photos show Andover completely deserted as residents heed lockdown instructions

The town was eerily empty last week when Manuela popped out to get her shopping.

Addressing the public, Boris Johnson last month outlined a series of strict social measures, including the closure of non-essential shops and the banning of social gatherings, ordering members of the public to stay at home with only a few exceptions.

The Prime Minister said that people are allowed to leave the house to carry out essential shopping, such as to buy food and medicine, but to do so "as infrequently as possible" and to use delivery services where they could.

Members of the public are also allowed to go outside to exercise once a day by themselves or with a member of their household. This could be a run, walk or cycle, but residents must stay two metres apart from anyone not from their own household.

Travelling to and from work is also permitted, but only when absolutely necessary and work cannot be done from home.

People can also leave the house to attend to medical needs or provide care for vulnerable people - and this includes going out to donate blood.

Gatherings with more than two people in public, excluding people you live with, have been stopped, as have weddings, baptisms and other ceremonies.

Mr Johnson said these measures exclude funerals. They can now be permitted but that they should be “restricted to immediate family only”.

To ensure compliance with the instruction to stay at home, all shops selling non-essential goods, including clothing and electronic stores, have been closed.

In Andover, the only stores to remain open are supermarkets such as Waitrose, Tesco and Sainsbury's.

The police now have power to enforce the new measures and will be able to disperse social gatherings.

Residents who do not follow the new measures will be landed with a fine.

The lockdown is to last an initial three weeks and will be reviewed on Monday, April 6.

The government may relax the measures “if the evidence shows we are able to”.