TWELVE Halton residents were fined last weekend for breaking lockdown rules.

Cheshire Police confirmed it has handed out more than 50 fixed penalty notices over the weekend for breaches of the national lockdown.

That compares to just 24 in December.

The 12 in Halton was the second highest figure in Cheshire behind Warrington and Chester.

A total of four Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) were issued at a party in Warrington, with one of the adults having travelled from Birmingham to attend.

Cheshire Constabulary is now urging residents to stay at home and stick to the rules.

Elsewhere in Cheshire, a number of vehicles were stopped at the weekend for carrying multiple occupants who were not from the same household, or the Cheshire area, and were travelling without a reasonable excuse.

In Crewe, officers issued three FPNs after a BBQ was held at a property while in Chester, eight FPNs were issued to people attending a house party after reports of loud music.

Assistant chief constable Jenny Sims said: "We have been living with some form of restrictions for around 10 months now, and we have had to make incredible sacrifices in order to keep the ones we love safe.

"The majority of people living in Cheshire have been sticking to the rules in place and I would like to thank them for doing so.

"However, there is a minority who continue to blatantly and repeatedly flout the rules in place. This is not acceptable.

"Our officers will continue to engage, explain and encourage but when they are met with these persistent rule breakers who have no regard for the safety of others, we must do what we can to protect the NHS and save lives."

People should stay at home and avoid all non-essential travel - unless they need to shop for basic necessities, exercise, go to work if they cannot do so from home, or to escape risk of harm.

ACC Sims continued: "With the new variant of the virus it is now more important than ever that we follow the restrictions in place and do all we can to stop the spread.

"The guidance is clear about staying at home.

"In Cheshire, we are lucky to have a great amount of green spaces and beauty spots but if we are exercising, we must do our best to keep it local.

"Officers will do their job in keeping you safe and, in turn, we need you to follow the rules and stick to the guidance, which is in place to help protect you – and others."

Police and crime commissioner David Keane added: "With the new variant being more transmissible than the variant we knew before, we must do all we can to reduce the spread of the virus, protect our NHS and save lives.

"The majority of people in Cheshire have followed the restrictions which have been in place over 10 months now but we must continue to make great sacrifices in order to protect those in our communities from harm."

To report a coronavirus breach visit cheshire.police.uk/tua/tell-us-about/c19/v7/tell-us-about-a-possible-breach-of-coronavirus-covid-19-measures/.