A police force issued more than 60 fines for people breaking lockdown restrictions in just five days.

Kent Police slapped 63 people with fixed penalty notices for breaches of coronavirus regulations since Monday.

Since January 4, Britain has been in a full national lockdown that banned mixing households and as the virus deaths spiralled, police started cracking down on people walking with a friend and sitting on benches. 

Between Monday and yesterday (Fri), Kent officers fined people for holding inside and outdoor gatherings, being outside without a "reasonable excuse" and for not self-isolating after arriving in the UK from abroad.

A man from Northfleet faces getting a £1,000 fine for failing to self-isolate after returning to Britain from Romania and a man was fined £200 on Monday for not wearing a face covering in a supermarket in Dover. 

He was asked by the store manager to wear the covering before entering, but he refused and was then told to leave and again did not before police were called, police said.  

Three men were also fined for not wearing face coverings in a takeaway shop in Strood following complaints to cops.

Among other fines issued were four £200 FPNs to a group of people found riding scooters and playing music from cars at a car park in Maidstone on Wednesday.

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During the early hours of the same day, officers stopped a car around 60 miles away in Ramsgate where they found three people, all from separate households.  

They told officers they drove from London to collect money that was owed to them. All were fined £200 each.

In the early hours of the previous day, officers found a vehicle outside a car dealers, where the driver told officers he drove from Sussex to look at the cars in the garage and was fined £200.

A woman was also fined £200 for hosting a house party in Ramsgate when officers were told about a disturbance outside.

When they arrived they noticed birthday banners on the door and the home owner claimed all those attended had received negative COVID-19 tests.

Yesterday (Fri) police were called to a disturbance at a house in Tunbridge Wells where people were seen climbing out the windows. Four people were given £200 fines for being part of an "unlawful gathering", police said.

There were five incidents this week of people from different households found in cars together, police said.

On Wednesday officers fined two men £200 each for being in a car in Ashford with other people they do not live with.

Two people from different households were fined for being inside another car together in nearby Medway that same day. Both told police they came outside to talk.

Elsewhere in Medway, another two men who were not from the same household were also fined after police found them eating in a car.

Fines of £200 were issued to people in four towns across the county, including Dover on the south coast, for allowing friends inside their homes.

In another similar incident on Thursday two people who met up in a car in Bluebell Hill near Aylesford were both fined £200 each, Kent Police said.

Assistant chief constable of Kent Police, Claire Nix, said: "It is unacceptable that people are still choosing to hold indoor and outdoor gatherings and to make unnecessary trips.

"At a time when there is so much pressure on Kent’s health services it is more important than ever for people to adhere to the government regulations.

"The country is at a critical point and we must all understand the dangers of the rapid spread of this new variant of COVID-19.

"Kent residents should visit the Government website to ensure they are familiar with what is and isn’t permitted and what may be exempt from the restrictions.

"Officers will continue to patrol the county, explaining, engaging and encouraging people to adhere to the regulations and will enforce the penalty notices when they feel it is