Police have issued more than 9,000 fines to people in England and Wales for allegedly breaching coronavirus lockdown laws, according to new figures.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said 8,877 fixed penalty notices (FPNs) have been recorded by forces in England between March 27 and April 27, while 299 were issued in Wales over the same period.
Some 397 were for repeat offenders, with one person fined six times.
Police have been given powers to break up gatherings or to tell those they believe to breaching the lockdown to return to their homes.
Officers are able to issue fixed penalty notices of £60, which can be doubled to for repeat offenders. Arrests can also be made when deemed "proportionate and necessary".
NPCC chairman Martin Hewitt said: “As the latest provisional figures on the number of fines issued show, the vast majority of people continue to do the right thing, staying at home in order to protect the NHS and help save lives.
“The figures also show our use of the enforcement powers remains proportionate with just 0.02 per cent of the population in England being issued with a fine.”
The news comes as the UK nears the end of the sixth week of lockdown. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the lockdown regulations will next be reviewed on Thursday, May 7.
Police were called to the same property in Chesire 30 times in one month for reports the tenants were breaching social distancing regulations and Sheffield police raided a pub on Friday to find customers "hiding in cupboards".
