Covid-19: Six £10k fines 'incorrectly recorded' by police

Six £10,000 fines issued to people for hosting large New Year's Eve parties were incorrectly recorded, police have said.

Leicestershire Police said on 1 January five people were fined over a party in Vaughan Way and another was penalised for a gathering in Granby Street.

But officers have confirmed the fixed penalty notices (FPNs) issued were all "standard fines of £200".

The fines were "recorded incorrectly on our systems", police added.

"We have now put checks in place to ensure this does not happen again," a police spokeswoman added.

It comes as the force handed out 361 Covid fines with a total value of £72,200 since 4 January.

Since 23 March last year - the date the first national lockdown was announced - the force said it has issued a total of 1,298 fines for coronavirus rule breaches.

Police have also received 20,996 reports of breaches from the public, averaging just under 500 each week.

Among new cases where police have issued fines have been people travelling from Birmingham, Coventry, London and Nottingham into Leicester without valid reasons, and a man who travelled with his girlfriend to collect a takeaway despite having tested positive for Covid.

So far 15 people have been issued the maximum £10,000 fine.

Leicestershire Police Assistant Chief Constable Kerry Smith praised the majority of people sticking to the rules for "enabling us to do our job tackling crime and supporting victims", but said the problem with rule-breakers has got worse since the New Year.

"We have certainly seen an increase in reports to us of Covid rule breaches and therefore as a result we are handing out more [FPNs]," she said.

"We share the public's frustration that the small minority are still taking terrible risks but we continue to police to keep people safe."

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