A Somerset cider barn business owner has received a £1,000 fixed penalty notice with officers shocked to find customers there on a Saturday night.

On Saturday January 30 the owner was found to have broken coronavirus restrictions by serving alcohol to customers.

The business premises at Mudgley near Wedmore was serving cider and people inside the premises were seen congregated around tables, not socially distancing or wearing face masks.

When officers arrived the business owner allegedly told them he was providing customers with samples of cider. However he and conceded he knew he was in breach of the regulations. He was issued with a £1,000 fixed penalty notice.

Acting Sergeant Matthew Shaqer said : "It was shocking to walk into the premises and find so many people there. Any one of them could have had the virus but been asymptomatic and spread the virus to a number of other households.

"We will continue to engage with the public, explain the rules and encourage them to comply, but with deliberate flagrant breaches of the legislation people can expect to be fined. We appreciate the vast majority of people are however complying with the rules and are making sacrifices to their daily lives to limit the spread of COVID-19 and we thank them for doing so."

If you are aware of breaches of COVID-19 regulations you can report them on 101.