CHESHIRE Police handed out nearly 200 fines in relation to coronavirus restriction during the first six months, new figures have revealed.

A total of 197 fixed penalty notices were handed out in relation to Covid-19 across the county between March 27 and September 21.

This equates to 0.185 fines for every 1,000 residents, with the force’s rate being the 13th lowest – and 30th highest – of any across England and Wales.

Dyfed-Powys Police had the highest level – with its 1,731 notices equalling 3.34 per 1,000 – followed by Cumbria, North Yorkshire, Dorset and North Wales.

In the north west, only Greater Manchester Police handed out fewer penalties per head than Cheshire.

Staffordshire Police had the lowest rate of any force, having handed out only 43 fines – or 0.038 per 1,000.

Kent, Warwickshire, the Metropolitan Police and Hampshire were second, third, fourth and fifth lowest respectively.

Cheshire Police said that its policy of ‘engaging, explaining and encouraging’ had led to it issuing a low number of fines.

Superintendent Julie Westgate said: “The figures reflect the approach officers across Cheshire have adopted of engage, explain and encourage – with enforcement being a last resort.

“Where we have attended reports of people not adhering to the rules, officers have on most occasions been able to explain to them the consequences of their actions and individuals have complied before we have had to use the health protection legislation.

“To ensure we are getting the balance right, every ticket issued is reviewed and any points of learning are fed back to officers and staff.

“The number of fixed penalty notices that have been issued is a demonstration of the effectiveness of that approach.

“With the country now moving to the new tiered alert level system, we will continue with our approach but when there is blatant flouting of the rules we must enforce in order to protect our communities.”