FINES were handed out for coronavirus lockdown breaches after a drunken canal boat party.

Police received reports of breaches of the ongoing Covid-19 measures on the Bridgewater Canal in Lymm at around 5pm yesterday, Thursday.

Officers attended the scene and found five people ‘intoxicated and having a party on a canal boat’.

The group did know each other but did not live at the same address.

They were handed fixed penalty notices after refusing to comply before being moved on from the area.

A Cheshire Police spokesman said: “At around 5pm on Thursday, April 23, officers were called to reports of people breaching the Covid-19 restrictions on the Bridgewater Canal in Lymm.

“Officers attended the scene and discovered a group of five people who were intoxicated and having a party on a canal boat.

“The group were all known to each other, but did not live at the same address.

“Officers explained that they were in breach of the new legislation, and they were all given the opportunity to engage with officers and comply.

“However they refused to acknowledge the severity of the situation, and the officers felt they were left with no other option than enforcement.”