TWO fines have been issued for Covid breaches after police discovered that a personal trainer was having clients round to their garden in Chester.

In total, 70 fixed penalty notices were issued across Cheshire over the past weekend, which included four in Chester and three in Ellesmere Port.

They were for a variety of breaches such as being out without a reasonable excuse and mixing with other households who were not in their support bubble.

As well as the fines issued in Chester and Ellesmere Port, three people received fixed penalty notices in Crewe after a family travelled from Preston to visit their friend’s house.

In Warrington one was issued to a homeowner who had invited friends round for a ‘get together’, while in Widnes fines were given to multiple friends from separate households who were out in a vehicle without a reasonable excuse.

Since the start of the year, Cheshire Police has issued more than 300 fines for blatant and repeated breaches.

Cheshire Police says the vast majority of residents are playing their part in the national effort by sticking to the lockdown rules and only going out if it is absolutely essential.

However, there are still a small number of people who are choosing to blatantly ignore the rules that remain in place.

Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims said: “I know the majority of residents will continue to stay at home and do all they can to limit their contact with others and I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you for all the sacrifices you have had to make.

“There are, however, still a minority who will flout the rules and when our officers are faced with these blatant and repeat breaches, they will enforce this to protect the NHS and save lives.

“The rules are clear – you must stay at home except for very limited exceptions.

“We all need to continue to use our common sense when leaving our home and ask – ‘is my journey necessary?’

“By checking each time we go to leave our house, we will be limiting the potential spread of the virus. We must have these personal boundaries in place to help drive down the rates of infection.

“At the end of the day, we all have a personal responsibility to do everything we can to prevent further deaths.”

Police officers are out and about patrolling key areas across the county including beauty spots to ensure that residents are staying safe.

ACC Sims added: “Now it is more important than ever to stay at home as much as possible. We may have seen cases decrease recently but we must not get complacent and must continue with the hard work to drive down infections.

“Our officers will continue to be inquisitive and will be engaging and explaining with those who are outside of their home and ensure that they are doing so safely, for blatant breaches we will continue to enforce.”

Police and Crime Commissioner David Keane said: “People across Cheshire are doing their very best to do what they can to ensure that we can beat this virus with a hope to turning back to normality eventually.

“We need everyone to pull together to drive down the number of cases across Cheshire. Please stick to the rules and adhere to the guidance which is in place to keep you safe.”