“We have seen an increase in spitting and coughing aimed at officers. Offenders must be dealt with robustly by the judiciary and handed a custodial sentence.”

She added: “The affects on officers can not be underestimated; many have families and loved ones who are all affected by these incidents.”

Dorset Police has united with ambulance workers, councils and other partner agencies to launch the #Unacceptable campaign, raising awareness of the risks that officers and other emergency service workers are taking to keep communities going.

Chief Constable James Vaughan said that a man in Bournemouth had coughed and sneezed at officers before saying: “Have some of the coronavirus”.

Deputy Chief Constable David Lewis told the Bournemouth Echo: “We have seen an increasing number of assaults and abuse of key workers and emergency service workers.

“We feel it necessary to get together and launch the #Unacceptable campaign. We want to educate people as to what’s going on and encourage them to applaud emergency workers.

“We have people who misbehave and we will deal with those robustly. They will face criminal proceedings and feel the full force of the law.”

Dorset Police has asked people to support the campaign by sharing #Unacceptable posts on social media.