Covid: Police officer gets final warning for lockdown breach

Mark Lee went for a walk in Snowdonia at a time when the regulations said people should not travel to exercise

A north Wales Police officer has been given a final written warning for breaking Covid lockdown rules.

PC Mark Lee went for a walk in Snowdonia, about 20 miles from his home in Colwyn Bay, on 29 December 2020.

It was at a time when the regulations said people should not travel to exercise.

He pleaded guilty to breaching Wales' coronavirus restrictions and was fined £600 at Llandudno Magistrates' Court in October, but has now kept his job.

As he is a serving police officer who was guilty of breaking the law, he had to face a disciplinary tribunal at work.

The tribunal, held before Chief Constable Carl Foulkes, concluded that PC Lee was guilty of gross misconduct, but stopped short of dismissing him from the force, instead giving him a final written warning.