A BUSINESS has been punished with a hefty for staying open during lockdown.

Evaldas Dackys was prosecuted for continuing to trade at his car wash at Devonshire Service Station in Ulverston while the area was under Tier 4 restrictions earlier this year.

He was among a number of people fined by Carlisle Magistrates' Court for breaching lockdown.

Dackys was said to have failed to cease trading on February 2 while the business was not permitted to be open.

He was convicted by the single justice procedure at the court in a hearing he did not attend, charged under the Health Protection Regulations.

Dackys, 31, was fined £1,066 by the court. He was also told to pay a victim surcharge of £106 and costs of £85.

The business is one of very few in south Cumbria to have had a prosecution brought for continuing to operate during lockdown.

Three people from Barrow also accused of breaching lockdown restrictions had their cases heard at Carlisle Magistrates' Court.

Chelsea Treen was convicted of participating in a gathering of two or more people at a property in Ramsden Street on February 27.

The 21-year-old, of Greengate Street, was fined £1,760 by the court.

She was also told to pay a £176 victim surcharge and £85 in costs.

Meanwhile Sophie Nicole Holmes was also fined for participating in a gathering of two or more people at her home in Hartington Street on March 6.

The 20-year-old was told to pay a £320 fine alongside a victim surcharge of £34 and costs of £85.

Matthew Maurizio Henson, 28, of Hall Street, is accused of participating in a gathering at Devon Street on March 5.

His case was referred to a full court hearing after he pleaded not guilty to the charge. He is due to appear at the court on November 21.

The whole of Cumbria was plunged into Tier 4 restrictions at the end of last year.

The county - which was previously in Tier 2 - was moved into the UK's highest alert level 'stay at home' following an announcement from the then Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

All leisure businesses including pubs and restaurants were forced to close and non-essential shops were ordered to close their doors once again.

Residents in a Tier 4 area were told they must not leave or be outside of their home or garden except where they had a ‘reasonable excuse’.

Essential activities such as food or medicine shopping, education or childcare and taking exercise or recreation were among the exception to the 'stay at home' rules.