PEOPLE from Barrow are among nearly 1,500 who have been given on-the-spot fines for breaking lockdown rules in Cumbria, new figures have confirmed.

Most of the rule-breakers - some 701 from the 1,483 total - were given fixed penalty notices for flouting the Covid movement restrictions, according to figures provided following a Freedom of Information Request.

The Cumbria Police figures confirm that scores of people ignored the stay-local rule - though senior officers say most breaches were dealt with through advice.

Among the offenders were many visitors to Cumbria from as far afield as Bradford, Derbyshire and London.

The worst month for travel ban offences was last May, when 400 were caught breaking the rule.

Nearly 160 people in the county broke the rule on gatherings of two or more people indoors in a Tier 4 area, with 99 of the 158 breaches recorded in January.

Other Covid rule breaches - committed between March 20 last year and the end of February - include:

* 48 people who participated in public gatherings of more than two people, including 2 fined for having a gathering of more than 30 people.

* 86 people who left their home area without a reasonable excuse.

* 32 people who took part in an indoor gathering; and 24 participating in a gathering of more than six people during the emergency period.

* 16 people who were in a public place without wearing a face-mask as well as six who failed to ensure a child complied with a coronavirus regulation.

Earlier this month, Cumbria’s Assistant Chief Constable Andy Slattery said: “We don’t want to issue fixed penalty notices; we just want people to not break the rules."

Among those who have recently been prosecuted in court for rule-breaking were:

* Daniel James Treen, 30, of Duncan Street, Barrow - fined £200 for participating in an illegal indoor party at his home on October 10 last year in Barrow in a Tier 2 area with people not in his support bubble.

* Lisa Mongan, 30, of Sceptre Road, Liverpool: Fined £1,100 for being at Coniston, on November 9 last year, without a reasonable excuse.

* Jay Faragher, 20, of Hall Street, Barrow: Fined £1,100 for participating in a ‘house party’ with people not from the same bubble in Barrow on October 18 last year.

* Akia Salam-Jones, 26, of Dingle Lane, Liverpool: Fined £1,100 for being at Old Station Car Park, Old Furness Road, Coniston, on November 9 last year, without a reasonable excuse.