POLICE broke up an illegal gathering at a Liverpool gym in breach of the coronavirus lockdown which people had travelled to from across the region, including Widnes.

Police officers were dealing with an unrelated incident outside Shred Fast Gym on Long Lane, Aintree when they were made aware of a gathering of people inside the business premises at around 10.30pm on Saturday.

When officers entered the found 20 people in a studio inside.

No-one was wearing PPE and most were not socially distancing, officers say.

There were people present who had travelled from as far as Widnes, Billinge, Wirral and Southport to attend the gathering, police said.

In total 19 people were issued with fixed penalty notices and the business owner has been reported to the local authority as an event organiser.

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Chief Superintendent Matt Boyle said: "We are currently in a national lockdown which means people should not be leaving their homes for non-essential reasons or meeting up with other people outside their household or support bubble.

"This sort of behaviour is unbelievable and unacceptable and officers should not be confronted with abuse and violence when attempting to uphold the law which most people are rightly abiding by.

"I would continue to ask people to please consider their own safety and that of their loved ones. We are all in this together and the laws apply to everyone.

"We all need to do everything we can to protect the NHS and our frontline staff during this deadly pandemic and we will not hesitate to take action when we believe people are flouting the rules."