Police warning as 'hundreds' travel to Norfolk beach

A police force has urged people not to become complacent after "hundreds" turned up at a Norfolk village beach.

Some 30 vehicles were parked near Sea Palling beach on Saturday and eight fixed penalty notices were issued.

Officers on patrol found people who had travelled from as far as Peterborough, 100 miles (160km) away, "to walk on the beach," Norfolk Police said.

The current lockdown rules say people in England can exercise outdoors once per day in their local area.

Sgt Dave Cooper said: "We understand people want to enjoy the sunshine and our beaches are a big attraction in Norfolk but we need to stay as local as possible and not become complacent as the vaccine programme is rolled out across the county.

"We will be carrying out Covid-19 patrols over the weekend and into the coming weeks to ensure we are helping to look after everyone and remain vigilant."

Police said people were also found to have travelled to Sea Palling from Ipswich, 67 miles (108km) away.

Although the government guidelines do not specify a maximum distance, they state: "You should avoid travelling outside of your village, town or the part of a city where you live."

Fines start at £200 in England, though Norfolk Police said it continued to "engage, encourage and explain to people first" before resorting to fixed penalty notices for those who continue to breach the rules.

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