A BRADFORD councillor, who only came out of hospital after testing positive for Covid-19 three days ago, has argued that we are failing to understand the "seriousness" of the virus after 10 people were fined for breaking lockdown rules on Saturday.

Councillor Riaz Ahmed, of Bradford Moor, warned that Covid "is real" after police fined 10 people £200 each when they flouted rules at a Leeds Road car park over the weekend.

Cllr Riaz spent a week at Bradford Royal Infirmary (BRI) after contracting Covid and only came home "a few days ago", he said, after being confined to a hospital bed and "struggling to breathe".

In a social media post on Sunday, West Yorkshire Police said that "a large number of people were found to be out during lockdown and meeting with other households to smoke shisha and eat takeaways" on Saturday evening.

Police said that this was "not a reasonable excuse to be out in the current lockdown", adding that rule-breakers are "jeopardising the Government's most recent announcement for relaxing the lockdown rules".

Cllr Riaz said that the virus "takes a lot out of you" and that people will only realise the severity of the situation when they "lose a family member or someone close to them".

"People are not realising the seriousness of the situation. We’ve lost a lot of people due to Covid. It has been a tough time", he said.

"A lot of people are taking this Covid situation very lightly. In addition to this, there are a lot of conspiracy theories out there - but, for God's sake, Covid is real. I have first-hand experience of it.

"I think another reason for there being breaches of lockdown rules like this is a lack of enforcement. I think the fines do help, but the law needs to be more forceful.

"Everybody has to play a role as Bradford fights against this. No matter who we are, whether you are black, brown or white. Bradfordians have to pull together. We have done in the past and we will do again, but we need leadership."

Cllr Riaz described his experience with the virus and how he ended up in hospital with it, saying: "I had symptoms so I self-isolated, but eventually it came to a stage where I was running out of breath and my oxygen levels were down. The ambulance had to take me to hospital", he said.

"The service I received was second-to-none - from the doctors, nurses, healthcare assistants and the whole of BRI. The set-up was like clockwork, and we should be really proud of it.

"Hospital staff are on their feet, working 12, 13 or 14 hours a day, god bless them.

"We can't let them go through all of that and then break the rules. Any business or individual breaching lockdown rules should be clamped down on heavily.

"I'd also encourage everyone to take up the vaccine. It will hep to protect ourselves and others - as Muslims as well, people in our community need to remember that it is our duty to protect others.

"My message to people is to stay calm and to stay socially distanced - we're turning the corner with the vaccine now being rolled out, but we still have to listen to medical advice and keep each other safe."

In a statement issued yesterday, a West Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: "Bradford East Neighbourhood Policing Team, together with Bradford Council, conducted a planned operation on Saturday 27 February following reports of Covid breaches.

"Officers attended the Vogue Lounge on Leeds Road and found a number of people gathering from different households at the premises.

"10 people received fines of £200 each.

"Enquiries are ongoing.

"Police are continuing to work closely with partner agencies to take positive action on any information we receive on breaches of coronavirus regulations."

Neighbourhood Policing Team officers will continue to actively patrol the area and "take positive action" for any further breaches that are found, police added.