CUMBRIANS who put others at risk by breaking the national lockdown rules will be brought to justice, the county’s Chief Constable Michelle Skeer has warned.

She spoke out as it was revealed that more than a third of the 751 people who were given on-the-spot fines since the start of the pandemic have not yet paid up.

The figures were released as Mrs Skeer added her name to an open letter from chief constables across the north west, urging the Government and the courts to do everything possible to bring coronavirus rule-breakers to justice as swiftly as possible.

Between March 27 and November 2, 236 people were given fixed penalty notices in Cumbria have failed to pay.

But there is evidence Cumbria’s courts are tackling the issue, with more than 70 people this week put before a court for breaching movement restrictions in the first lockdown.

In their letter, the chief constables from Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, and Cheshire praised the majority of people who follow the rules.

But their letter adds: “Along with police forces nationally, we have taken a very measured approach to enforcement from the start of the pandemic, recognising the restrictions placed on all our lives were unprecedented.

“We used the 4 Es model of engage, explain, encourage and only as a last resort enforce, in relation to issuing Fixed Penalty Notices for breaching the coronavirus legislation.

“Sadly we have seen a minority right across the North West who seem incapable of demonstrating any civic responsibility and complying with the regulations.”

The letter adds: “To the minority who feel the restrictions don’t apply to them be prepared to face the consequences of greater levels of enforcement...

“We will collectively target those who flout the restrictions, particularly those organising large gatherings and music events, repeatedly holding parties or deliberately causing harm to our communities by not following the restrictions, such as self-isolating where necessary...

“Where we have issued Fixed Penalty notices a significant proportion of recipients think they can ignore them. We are therefore seeking support from Government and the Judiciary to consider how we bring these people to justice rapidly.”

Mrs Skeer said all the region’s police forces were consistent in striving for ‘policing by consent.”

This entails officers first engaging, explaining, and encouraging rule compliance - and only as a last resort moving to enforcement.

She said: “The vast majoirty of the public are doing their bit. In the last two weeks we have done 1,346 engagements with nearly 2,000 members of the public where we believed they were not complying with regulations or abiding by the advice.

“We issued only 10 fixed penalty notices.

“But our law-abiding communities want us to take action against those who are blatantly flouting the regulations. Public safety is the key element of what we’re trying to achieve.

“We will use enforcement if we need to.”

Dozens of Cumbrians were this week given hefty fines by magistrates for breaches during the first lockdown. To check out the current lockdown rules go to www.gov.uk/guidance/new-national-restrictions-from-5-november