A 32-year-old Wickford woman was issued with an fine after inviting eight friends to her son’s birthday party.

When officers arrived, guests fled over a fence, Essex Police said. 

The case was one example of Covid rule breaches across Essex for which people received a £200 fine. 

In another, six men aged between 26 and 57 were issued with a fine after gathering for a party in a Langdon Hills home.

None of them were in a support bubble with the occupants of the house, police said. 

An Essex Police spokesman said: "If you are thinking about organising a social gathering or making a non-essential journey, please reconsider, stay safe and stop the unnecessary spread of Covid-19.

"We want people to continue to report Covid-19 breaches. You can report them via our website by using our digital 101 service, where you can speak to one of our operators via Live Chat, any day between 7am and 11pm."

In other cases:

  • On Friday 26 February, a 31-year-old man was stopped at Stansted Airport after attempting to leave the country for a two-week break to visit family. A 39-year-old man was also issued with an FPN after trying to board a flight to see relatives in Italy.
  • On the same day in Waltham Abbey, a 51-year-old man was issued with an FPN after he returned to work rather than quarantining following a trip to France.
  • On Saturday 26 February, a 45-year old Silver End man, who admitted he should have been self-isolating, was fined after hosting an 18th birthday party attended by neighbours.
  • On Sunday, a 43-year-old woman was fined after refusing to pack up her blankets and chairs on Clacton beach even though officers explained this was a breach of the Covid rules
  • On the same beach the following day, a 32-year-old man was issued with an FPN after refusing to engage with our officers. He was first asked to leave after setting up a barbecue with a female companion and was then seen eating fish and chips with three other people. His friends left when asked but the 32-year-old became verbally abusive and argued that he didn’t agree with the rules.
  • Sunday also saw a 24-year-old Loughton woman issued with an FPN for hosting a party with ten friends.

Attracting followers on social media is very important to some people but a 38-year-old man from Southend and his 35-year-old friend attracted the attention of officers after travelling all the way to Scotland and back to test drive cars.

Their excuse? They were making videos for TikTok.