North Yorkshire Police issue 134 fines in past week for covid rule-breakers with Scarborough remaining hot-spot

Police warned on Wednesday that they will continue to clamp down on covid rule breakers as it was revealed 134 fines have been issued in North Yorkshire over the past week.

Nearly eighty of the fines were issued over the weekend, with Scarborough seeing by far the highest number of fixed penalty notices.

Police chiefs admitted on Wednesday that they’re seeing persistent problems with covid restriction breakers in the coastal town.

57 fines were issued in Scarborough since January 12, with 46 of those being for people attending illegal indoor gatherings.

Ten people who were issued a fixed penalty notice in Scarborough do not live in the area.

But the majority of fines in the Hambleton district were to visitors from other areas. Just two of the 19 notices given were to residents.

York saw the second highest number of fines with 28 issued.

Just one person was fined in both Ryedale and Richmond, making them the lowest areas in the county for fixed penalty notices.

The police have issued a total of 241 fixed penalty notices since the beginning of the current lockdown.

Chief Inspector Charlotte Bloxham said: “For people who have lost loved ones, to see others blatantly flouting lockdown rules must be incredibly painful.

“Many people do understand the seriousness of the situation and I say thank you to all those who continue to make those daily sacrifices.

“However, there is a stubborn minority who believe that the rules do not apply to them. When we encounter these people we will take enforcement against them.”