Since the start of lockdown nearly 300 fines in Hertfordshire have been issued for breaches of coronavirus rules.

The latest figures from the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) found across England, there were 17,451 fixed penalty notices issued due to breaches of lockdown restrictions between March 27 and October 19.

Specifically in Hertfordshire, there have been 274 fines issued within that period.

The county ranked 23 out of 41 police forces in England that issued the most coronavirus fines since lockdown. as North Yorkshire Police issued the most fixed penalty notices, with 1,151 fines since the start of lockdown, and Metropolitan Police followed shortly after with 1,131 fines.

Around two-thirds of these national fines were issued to people under the age of 35.

And since the implementation of the Covid three-tier alert level, 65 fines were given in Tier 1 areas, 79 fines in Tier 2 areas, and 124 fines in Tier 3 areas.

The weekly number of fines have also been on a rise since mid-September and early October.

Hertfordshire Constabulary and council staff across the county visited hundreds of local businesses within the last week and issued 78 verbal warnings to people ignoring the rules – including closing at 10pm, social distancing and test and trace requirements.

And recent data shows that between a Covid-19 action week held in Watford (October 17 to October 14), two people were fined for refusing to wear a face covering.

The Watford Borough Council Protection team, in partnership with the local police force, also issued 100 verbal warnings to people in the town and visited 400 Watford businesses.

This comes after Watford Chief Inspector Ian Grout said officers “will not hesitate” to issue fines to those who are not exempt and continue to flout coronavirus rules.