SIR: The Government has recommend that when exercising people should “stay as local as possible”.

On Monday I went for a cycle ride from Winchester which took in villages which would fall outside the Government definition of local. When I cycled there the villages were deserted, there was hardly any traffic on the roads and the risk of infection was minimal. When I returned to Winchester for a few more miles of cycling there were people everywhere - walking in the road, on the pavements and on shared paths. In addition there was lots of traffic which I had to negotiate.

Staying local when cycling is actually more risky than not staying local. Surely the Government exercising advice should be “stay away from people” rather than “stay local”? I don’t think coronavirus knows the difference between local and non-local.

Richard Gibson,

North Walls,

Winchester