MORE than 10 per cent of fines given to people flouting coronavirus lockdown guidelines in England and Wales were issued by Lancashire Police – more than any other force, new figures reveal.

A total of 380 fixed penalty notices were given in the county since the The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations 2020 were introduced three weeks ago.

The figures, released by the National Police Chief’s Council, show the total issued by police forces nationally was 3,203, including 38 by Greater Manchester and 40 by Cumbria.

Lancashire surpassed the current combined total of those two forces in the first three days the guidelines were introduced – issuing 123 by March 30, including 26 in East Lancashire.

Police can issue fines of £60 to people caught outside without a valid reason, which goes up to £120 for second-time offenders, doubling for each repeat offence.

Chief Constable Andy Rhodes said fines were being issued to people who were uncooperative, and the figure of 380 was relatively small when set against the 4,000-plus calls the force had received about coronavirus-related incidents.

He also said that, unlike other forces, his officers were equipped with the technology to issue fines as soon as the legislation was brought in.

Chief Cons Rhodes said: “This is an unprecedented public health emergency with an unprecedented national effort to fight this virus.

“We’re all in this together and each and every one of us has a role to play by following the government advice.

“Our aim has always been to encourage and support our communities to comply fully with the restrictions by engaging, explaining and encouraging. The vast majority of people are fully complying with the guidance and advice and we thank them for helping to stop the spread of the virus.

“We are clear that only when faced with non-compliance will we then enforce as a last resort for individuals who have not responded to engage, explain, and encourage and where public health is at risk.

“We moved quickly so our officers had a mobile solution to be able to issue FPNs, if they needed to, the day after the Coronavirus legislation came into force.

“We have recorded more than 4,800 COVID-19 related incident logs from members of the public between Friday, March 27, and Monday, April 13, and the number of fines issued is just a small percentage of that total.

“This represents a proportionate use of enforcement as the last resort for a small number of people who have refused to cooperate.”