Covid: Police break up wedding party in Merthyr Tydfil

A flare-up in cases in Merthyr Tydfil is down to a "loss of discipline", a health chief previously said

A number of people were fined after police broke up a wedding party in Wales' Covid-19 hotspot.

Officers responded to reports of a gathering in the Heolgerrig area of Merthyr Tydfil at about 17:20 GMT on Saturday, South Wales Police said.

Eight people were fined for breaching Covid-19 regulations and "advised to vacate the premises", the force added.

Merthyr Tydfil has the highest case rate in Wales, with 127.6 cases per 100,000 people reported on Monday.

It comes a week after South Wales Police issued hundreds of fines to people who gathered together indoors to watch Wales' Six Nations match against France.

A health chief said the flare-up in cases in Merthyr Tydfil was down to "a bit of a loss of discipline".

People have been urged to stop socialising in Merthyr Tydfil

Licenced wedding venues were able to reopen for wedding ceremonies at the start of March, but wedding receptions are still banned.

Wales became the first nation of the UK to allow unrestricted travel within its borders on Saturday.

The rules on meeting people from other households have been relaxed too, with up to six people from two different households allowed to meet outdoors while maintaining social distancing.

Gwent Police fined five people on Sunday morning after officers attended a house party in Maesycwmmer, Caerphilly county.

The force said on Twitter one person had travelled from Torquay, Devon, to attend the party, adding: "This will not be tolerated."

In Ceredigion, a bar has been ordered to close and issued with a £1,000 fine after council officers discovered an "underground drinking den", as Wales played France in the Six Nations on 20 March.

Bar 46 in Aberystwyth has been fined after council officers found an "underground drinking den"

Ceredigion council said it found a group "sitting around a table littered with drinks glasses, smoking and watching the post-match commentary" at Bar 46, on Bridge Street in Aberystwyth.

"The cellar room had been fitted out with bench seating, a sofa, a table and bar stools," the council added.

As lockdown restrictions were eased, there was the "odd occasion" where officers in mid and west Wales spoke to people who had travelled from England, according to Roger Webb, secretary of Dyfed-Powys Police Federation.

The majority of people have been enjoying the relaxation of lockdown rule responsibly, one force says

People from England and elsewhere in the UK are not allowed to travel into Wales, except for essential reasons such as to work or to care for someone.

"What we have seen is the majority of people have been going to campsites, self-contained accommodation, beauty spots, have been from within Wales," Mr Webb told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.