NEARLY 1,500 have been given on-the-spot fines for breaking lockdown rules in Cumbria, new figures have confirmed.

Most of the rule-breakers - some 701 from the 1,483 total - were given fixed penalty notices for flouting the covid movement restrictions, according to figures provided following a Freedom of Information Request.

The Cumbria Police figures confirm that scores of people ignored the stay-local rule - though senior officers say most breaches were dealt with through advice.

Among the offenders were many visitors to Cumbria from as far afield as Bradford, Sheffield, Sunderland, Derbyshire, Liverpool, , Merseyside, and London.

The worst month for travel ban offences was last May, when 400 were caught breaking the rule.

Nearly 160 people in the county broke the rule on gatherings of two or more people indoors in a Tier 4 area, with 99 of the 158 breaches recorded in January.

Other covid rule breaches - committed between March 20 last year and the end of February - include:

  •  48 people who participated in public gatherings of more than two people, including 2 fined for having a gathering of more than 30 people.
  •  86 people who left their home area without a reasonable excuse.
  •  32 people who took part in an indoor gathering; and 24 participating in a gathering of more than six people during the emergency period.
  •  16 people who were in a public place without wearing a face-mask as well as 6 who failed to ensure a child complied with a coronavirus regulation.
  •  1 person who refused to wear a face-mask on public transport
  •  1 who did not self-isolate after a positive covid test
  •  2 who failed to self-isolate after contact with an infected person.
  •  4 people failed to close a restricted business between 10pm and 5am while 4 failed to ensure customers were seated when ordering or consuming food.

Earlier this month, Cumbria's Assistant Chief Constable Andy Slattery warned against getting together indoors because it helps the virus spread. “We don’t want to issue fixed penalty notices; we just want people to not break the rules," he said.

For a list of individuals formally prosecuted in local courts for covid rule breaches click this link.