One family who drove overnight from London to Devon in order to go fishing were fined and told to leave the county, after police located them in Torquay at 5am.

Owl has also received reports of the “well connected” coming down to East Devon to self isolate away from their primary residence, a practice that Robert Jenrick seems to endorse.  

Nicola Woolcock, Emma Yeomans  www.thetimes.co.uk 

A scuba diver and a family who drove more than 200 miles for a fishing trip were among Britons caught flouting social distancing rules.

Police in some parts of the UK were accused of adopting a heavy-handed approach to enforcement as temperatures hit 25C yesterday.

One family who drove overnight from London to Devon in order to go fishing were fined and told to leave the county, after police located them in Torquay at 5am. Mike Newton, a control room supervisor for Devon and Cornwall police, said: “Officers located a family from London who have driven overnight for a spot of fishing. Escorted out of Devon, and adults issued with fines. I shall refrain from further comment.”

Police patrolled beauty spots and roads into Devon and Cornwall over the weekend and warned that “legislation will be enforced”.

The RNLI was called out to two incidents on Saturday night in Brighton. It found one person had safely made it back to the beach but then saw lights coming from beneath the water at the end of the pier. A diver emerged, who had been night-fishing, and was reprimanded by police.

“We are urging the public not to take part in any water-based activity on or in the sea, to reduce the risk to the lifesaving charity’s volunteer crews and other emergency services being exposed to Covid-19 and the pressure on their time,” an RNLI spokesman said.

RNLI volunteers have rescued people on three separate occasions in the past two weeks after they had ventured on to Sully Island, in the Vale of Glamorgan, which is 400 yards from the mainland and accessible only at low tide. A spokesman for Barry lifeboat station added: “The volunteer lifeboat crew are putting their lives at risk responding to people who are not listening to the government advice.”

Second home-owners are reportedly posting their luggage through couriers in an attempt to avoid police. North Wales Police said on Twitter: “Unbelievably we are investigating reports that people are sending their suitcases via courier with clothes to their holiday homes in Wales, so if they get stopped they are not found with them. Surely people aren’t that selfish and cunning, are they?”

There have also been claims of heavy-handed policing. A hospital trust was forced to intervene after nurses on their way to and from work were stopped by police and told their NHS ID badges were not sufficient proof that they were out of the house for essential reasons.

Residents of Bracknell, Berkshire, claimed that drones had been spying on back gardens to check if people were holding barbecues or house parties. Marilyn Hedges, 69, said: “All the neighbours are up in arms. A drone flew at low level and hovered over our gardens. We can only assume it was the police or the council — who else would be doing it? It’s a total invasion of people’s privacy.”

Central Bedfordshire police was forced to clarify that it was only giving “well-intentioned” advice after tweeting: “If you think that by going for a picnic in a rural location no one will find you, don’t be surprised if an officer appears from the shadows!”

Greater Manchester police apologised after a video circulated online of a man being arrested and handcuffed who was reportedly moving a tree in his car on behalf of his mother. The force said he was subsequently de-arrested and it had apologised to his family. It added: “We would ask that the public understand the stresses that our officers are working under at present and we hope this apology will be welcome to those involved.”

The same force has used video messages from local celebrities to encourage people to stay at home. They included Peter Hook, from Joy Division — who said people should not have house parties this weekend — the actor Dan Brocklebank from Coronation Street and the footballers Marcus Rashford and Steph Houghton, the England captain. Ms Houghton’s message was: “If your mates are asking for a game of football, please say no.”

Police covering Richmond upon Thames, southwest London, said people had stayed at home rather than visiting the riverside. Officers patrolling Oxford Street, in central London, posted a picture of the deserted road and said: “Thank you to all those staying at home to protect the NHS and save lives this bank holiday weekend.”

Great Western Railway used social media to warn: “We are aware that a small minority of people are still spending time outside to film trains near our railway lines. This is explicitly against government advice and not essential. We all have a part to play in containing the spread of the virus.”

Police in north London broke up a group of men gathering outside a cafe and also closed down three car washes.