A Freedom of Information request submitted by this newspaper has revealed that fewer than 10 people have been fined for breaching coronavirus restrictions since the summer.

We asked Herts police: How many people have been fined for COVID-19 rules violations since the first lockdown lifted in July?

Using figures from July 1 last year, Herts police have confirmed that seven people in Stevenage were fined for violating COVID-19 rules and restrictions, as set out under the government's coronavirus legislation.

The new laws stipulate that you could be fined for breaking stay at home or social distancing rules or if you're a business owner, trading at non-essential business premises when ordered to close.

In Stevenage, fines were issued to people in Monument Court and High Street among other places in the town.

This compares to three fines being dished out in St Albans, and 47 fixed penalty notices being issued in nearby Welwyn Hatfield.

We also obtained information on the number of warnings issued by police for similar offences under COVID-19 laws.

In Stevenage, 88 people have been warned, while those numbers stand at 67 in St Albans and 228 in Welwyn Hatfield.

In England, fines start at £200 and the BBC have reported that there have been 32,000 fixed penalty notices issued since March in England and Wales.