“We’re very fortunate in Hampshire, we’ve not had any leave embargo, and no one’s been prevented from taking their leave [during the pandemic],” he said.

“If officers have cancelled their leave there’s no guarantee that they will be able to rebook it when they want, despite Government guidance and working time regulations saying you’ll be able to carry that leave over.

“Even if you could carry that leave over there’s no guarantee you’ll be able to take that leave when you want it next year.

“We don’t know what’s around the corner but if we see a rise in public order demands and demands on the service, there might be a problem with taking leave, and if you have cancelled your leave and you’re hoping for some leave perhaps in October, September, again you might not be able to have that leave - that’s a long time without a break.”

It's the gap between breaks which concerns the Federation – for their physical and mental health its important officers use their annual leave. With foreign travel largely ruled out just having a staycation and spending time at home with their families can make such a difference.

“We’re going to start hitting the summer holidays and the peak for a normal year, with everything else on top of it, people are going to be burning out, they’re going to be fatigued,” Garry said.

“If you get tired, your immune system suffers and you’re more susceptible to the bugs and viruses going round let alone picking up coronavirus.

“So we really want people to keep their leave, make best use of it, have a staycation and repair yourself and make sure you’re able to keep doing what you want to be doing and being able to go to work, spend time with your loved ones and your family and friends and stay well and healthy.

“Giving your brain a holiday from work is really, really important because otherwise everything builds up.

“Everyone keeps going on that it’s an exceptional time but it is. We’ve got so much stuff in our heads to process at the best of times, with all the other stresses and anxieties and concerns that we’ve got with our PPE, who’s got the virus and who hasn’t, what if they’ve spat at me, have I got it?

“Taking time out allows you to process everything and spend some time away from work, with your friends, your family, your kids, your families, to just normalise things and being able to download and process everything – it’s so important.”