20 people were found at Shred Fast Gym in Aintree
Police have issue fixed penalty notices after finding 20 people at a gym near Liverpool.
At around 10.30pm on Saturday evening, Merseyside Police were attending an unrelated near-by incident when they were made aware of a gathering at a business premises called Shred Fast Gym on Long Lane in Aintree.
20 people were found inside the studio, none of which were wearing PPE.
19 people were issued with fixed penalty notices, and the owner of the business was been reported to the local authority as an event organiser.
Police report some of the attendees had travelled from as far as Billinge, Widnes, Wirral and Southport.
Indoor gyms and sports facilities must remain closed under current lockdown restrictions in England.
Merseyside Police also broke up parties at hotel in Hatton Garden.
Officers attended the Richmond Hotel at 3.15am on Sunday morning, ffinding over 200 people present at four ongoing parties, along with evidence of drug use.
Anyone who was not a legitimate guest at the hotel was dispersed, with 13 fixed penalty notices issued and 11 documented warnings given out.
One woman was arrested for breaching Coronavirus legislation and for two counts of assault constable.
"We are currently in a national lockdown which means people should not be leaving their homes for non-essential reasons or meeting up with other people outside their household or support bubble," said Chief Superintendent Matt Boyle.
"This sort of behaviour is unbelievable and unacceptable and officers should not be confronted with abuse and violence when attempting to uphold the law which most people are rightly abiding by.
"I would continue to ask people to please consider their own safety and that of their loved ones. We are all in this together and the laws apply to everyone.
"We all need to do everything we can to protect the NHS and our frontline staff during this deadly pandemic and we will not hesitate to take action when we believe people are flouting the rules."
