The mayor of Hillegom, a town at the heart of the Netherlands bulb growing area, has urged people not to visit the flower fields this year, after being forced to close roads at the weekend.

So many people turned out by bike and car to look at the bulbs that mayor Arie van Erk said he wondered where people had been hiding during the coronavirus crisis. ‘We are lucky that we still have the freedom to move around,’ he said. ‘Cherish that fact and stay in your own locality.’

The narrow roads between the fields were closed off to all but locals, and in some places residents had hung up their own tape to try and keep people away. Road closures will continue for the rest of the season, Van Erk said. ‘People are not welcome here this year.’

The situation was similar in Lisse, where the Keukenhof gardens are located. Here too the mayor urged people to stay home and roads were closed off to sightseers.

There were few problems on the beaches and in the woods at the weekend, but many roads had been closed as a precaution.