MORE than 300 fines have been issued to Cheshire residents for flouting lockdown rules so far in January.

That includes 70 fixed penalty notices issued last weekend – including six in Northwich, despite the town still reeling from Storm Christoph’s flooding.

Incidents across Cheshire over the weekend included a family travelling from Preston to a friend in Crewe, a get-together at a Warrington home and a personal trainer in Chester having clients round in their garden.

Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims said: “I know the majority of residents will continue to stay at home and do all they can to limit their contact with others and I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you for all the sacrifices you have had to make.

Ass Chf Con Jenny Sims

Ass Chf Con Jenny Sims

“There are, however, still a minority who will flout the rules and when our officers are faced with these blatant and repeat breaches, they will enforce this to protect the NHS and save lives.

“The rules are clear – you must stay at home except for very limited exceptions.

"We all need to continue to use our common sense when leaving our home and ask – ‘is my journey necessary?’."

As well as the six fines issued in Northwich last weekend, there were 18 in Widnes, 12 in Crewe, eight in Warrington, seven in Macclesfield, five in Runcorn, four in Chester, three in Ellesmere Port and a further six issued on the county's motorway network.

Police officers are out and about patrolling key areas across the county, including beauty spots, to ensure that residents are staying safe.

Ass Chf Con Sims added: “By checking each time we go to leave our house, we will be limiting the potential spread of the virus. We must have these personal boundaries in place to help drive down the rates of infection.

England has been in lockdown for most of January. Image: PA

England has been in lockdown for most of January. Image: PA

“At the end of the day, we all have a personal responsibility to do everything we can to prevent further deaths.

“Now it is more important than ever to stay at home as much as possible. We may have seen cases decrease recently but we must not get complacent and must continue with the hard work to drive down infections.

“Our officers will continue to be inquisitive and will be engaging and explaining with those who are outside of their home and ensure that they are doing so safely, for blatant breaches we will continue to enforce.”

For more information on lockdown rules see gov.uk/coronavirus or click here to report a coronavirus rule breach.