Coronavirus: Lincolnshire man fined six times for lockdown breaches

Police say they are considering using alternative ways to deal with repeat offenders

A man from Lincolnshire who keeps "blatantly ignoring the law" has been fined six times since lockdown began, local police have said.

The force said it had issued 206 penalty notices and nine other people had been fined at least twice.

Deputy Chief Constable Jason Harwin said he accepted people made mistakes, but for one person to be fined six times was "clearly not acceptable".

He said the force was looking at other ways to deal with repeat rule-breakers.

Police currently have no powers to take offenders to court unless they fail to pay fines, Mr Harwin said.

"What we're trying to do is look at some of the wider issues around potentially public nuisance, other legislation around public order and causing alarm and distress," he said.

"But the reality [at the moment] is that individual will continue to get fined."

On Wednesday, penalties for lockdown breaches in England rose from £60 to £100 for each offence, up to a maximum of £3,200.

"It's a massive increase for those who continue to break the regulations," Mr Harwin said.

Elsewhere, Cumbria Police issued a fixed penalty notice to a man who went to a friend's house to dye their hair and another to a man who travelled 100 miles to Keswick for a 20-minute walk.

Greater Manchester Police stopped four men who had travelled from Yorkshire to get a burger.

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