9,000 fines issued for virus lockdown breaches

Coronavirus: Police chiefs reveal scale of social distancing enforcement actions

More than 9,000 fines have been issued in England and Wales for breaches of coronavirus lockdown restrictions, according to data from the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC).

In England, there were 8,877 fixed penalty notices issued between 27 March and 27 April, while in Wales there were 299.

Almost 400 of those fined were repeat offenders, with one individual was penalised six times.

Police have been given powers to hand out a £60 penalty, reduced to £30 if paid within two weeks, for breaches of the lockdown rules. The fine is doubled for each repeat offence up to a £960 maximum.

Calls about anti-social behaviour have more than doubled compared to the same period last year. For the four weeks to 26 April there were around 215,000 anti-social behaviour reports, compared with 106,000 in 2019. Many of the calls related to concerns over gatherings, noise or trouble in homes.

However, NPCC chairman Martin Hewitt said compliance was still holding up.