Police have turned away more than 1,000 cars from a Welsh beauty spot in just two days - many of which were driven by people who didn’t realise that Wales had different lockdown rules to England.

Dyfed-Powys Police has released the extraordinary figure after one its busiest periods since lockdown began at the end of March.

Officers continue to carry out spot checks across the country - particularly at and near beauty spots - and on Saturday, May 30 and Sunday, May 31 they turned away more than 1,000 cars from the Brecon Beacons.

Many of those stopped and turned away were believed to be heading for an area known as Waterfall Country, situated at the south end of Brecon Beacons National Park.

Not everyone stopped was issued with fixed penalty notices for breaching lockdown, but police say fines were issued to those that were in clear breach of the rules.

Superintendent Steve Davies of Dyfed-Powys Police said: “I would like to thank communities for their cooperation in recent months in complying with requirements of the Covid 19 legislation and also reassure them we are still working hard with our partners to police the restrictions that remain in place across Wales.

“Our officers have worked hard to engage with the public at every opportunity throughout these unprecedented times by explaining what we are doing and why, and encouraging people to make the best choices to protect public health in Wales.

“But where people have clearly flouted the rules we have dealt with them appropriately and issued fines.”

Dyfed-Powys Police said that many of those stopped last weekend in the Brecon Beacons believed that lockdown rules in Wales were the same as those in England, with people coming from as far away as London to take in the Welsh scenery.

They also said that more than 70% of people reported for lockdown breaches in the county of Powys since March 27 had travelled from outside the Dyfed-Powys fore artea.

Despite many people seemingly being unaware of the differences in the regulations imposed by the UK and Welsh Governments, there does remain a clear distinction.

In England, people are allowed to travel as far as they like, as long as they maintain social distancing guidelines.

In Wales, however, despite lockdown being eased to some extent this week, regulations laid out by the Welsh Government still make it clear that people should not travel excessively for exercise and that they should “stay local”. 

The Welsh Government has reminded people in England that these regulations will apply to them as soon as they cross the border.

The Brecon Beacons National Park, which has been closed since March, has announced that it will partially reopen on Monday, June 8.