Twelve footballers fined for telling pub they were in same household

Twelve members of a football team have been fined for breaching coronavirus restrictions after visiting a north east pub and telling staff they were all from the same household.

The squad drank together on Sunday evening but managers at the venue became concerned the thirsty dozen were lying about living together – because there were 12 of them.

It is not known if they were wearing kit at the time.

Northumbria Police said they issued each player a £200 fine after being called to the pub, which they have not named.

Chief Superintendent Janice Hutton said: "This group showed a flagrant disregard for the rules which are in place to help prevent the spread of coronavirus.

"Actions like this undermine the efforts being made by the majority of others in order to protect themselves, their family, friends and wider communities.

"We will continue to work closely with our communities and offer advice to people who have mistakenly broken the restrictions.

"However, as we have made clear, where individuals are choosing to ignore the measures in place, we are committed to taking enforcement action to protect our communities."