ONE Craven resident plus 18 visitors are among 107 people given fixed penalty notices by North Yorkshire Police in the first week of the latest national lockdown.

The FPNs handed out locally were given to three women and 16 males and the offence was 'being outside place of living' according to data released by police.

The most penalty notices were handed out in Scarborough during the last seven days. These came to 49 FPNs with 34 of these issued for indoor gatherings.

Speaking about the number of fines issued in the first week of the national lockdown, Superintendent Mike Walker, lead for the force’s Covid-19 response said: “We have issued 107 fixed penalty notices since the national lockdown commenced on January 6 which is more than double the number we issued in the first week of the first national lockdown last year.

“Sadly we are seeing a minority of people flouting the rules and who are making unnecessary journeys into or across the county or who are gathering indoors and holding house parties.

“I cannot emphasis enough the risk this behaviour presents at this current time and I urge people to think about their actions and very carefully consider the decisions they make about leaving home. You should only leave home for essential reasons and if you do go out, you should stay local.

“Currently within North Yorkshire and the City of York we have some of the highest infection rates across the Yorkshire and Humber region. So it isn’t just about the risk of people bringing the virus in with them. It’s about the risk that you could pick up the virus here and take it home with you, spreading it wider to your family and loved ones.

“So please follow the rules – stay home, protect the NHS and save lives.”