Four men were fined £400 each after police found them drinking beer in the garden of a Swadlincote home - in breach of lockdown rules a year ago.

This case is among many more which can now be shared after a large number of court documents were released to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Police were called to a suspected illegal gathering in Stanhope Road, Swadlincote on March 12, 2021.

When they arrived, they found four males sitting in the garden drinking alcohol.

The men said they "were celebrating as one of the males had recently had charges dropped" relating to a different matter, PC Benjamin Harvey's report details.

All four men were handed £400 fines for having an illegal gathering in a Tier 4 area.

Lewis Bakewell, now aged 32, of Common Road, Church Gresley, did not pay his fine but pleaded guilty.

As a result, he was handed an increased fine of £800, a victim surcharge of £80 and court costs of £85.

These closed-doors hearings, dealt with under the Single Justice Procedure, relate to people who were handed Covid fines and did not pay them, resulting in their case heading to court.

Police reports are the only evidence used in the case against each of the defendants, all of which have now been released to the LDRS.

In almost all cases, the judgements were decided without the defendant present or having submitted a plea.