FOUR teenagers have been hit in the pocket when they were issued with fixed penalty notices after they were caught flouting lockdown rules when they were in a car parked at a beauty spot.

Durham Police discovered the teenagers all sitting inside a vehicle just after 11pm last night at Broken Scar, Darlington.

They were the latest to be issued by the force bringing its total to 15 Fixed Penalty Notices handed out for breaches of Covid-19 regulations since Christmas Eve.

Four FPN were issued last night, the circumstances were that shortly after 11pm officers discovered a car at Broken Scar, near Darlington, containing four people from different households and all the occupants were reported: they were a 19-year-old man from Guisborough, who was the driver and his passengers, a man from Darlington and two women from Guisborough, who were all aged 18.”

A spokesman for Durham Constabulary said: “The rules are there to protect us all and, as throughout the pandemic, we are confident that the majority will stick to the regulations.

“But those who choose to blatantly ignore the rules and put others at risk can expect to receive a fixed penalty notice.”

Other penalty notices issued by the force include one where officers were called to reports of ongoing anti-social behaviour at an address in the North Road area of Darlington last Wednesday, December 30.

On arrival officers found that there were 19 teenagers inside the property all under the age of 18.