YOBS who gave cider to cows and set off fireworks in Castle Park have been handed fined for flouting lockdown restrictions.

A video posted on social media showed a group of men feeding a cow in land near the River Stour in Dedham from a can of Strongbow cider.

Police were made aware of the incident and tracked down the group.

They then discovered two of the same people had set off a firework in Castle Park a fortnight before, disturbing people who were out on their daily exercise.

A spokesman for Essex Police said: "We have been made aware of concerns from the local community about a video circulating on social media depicting three men harassing a group of cows in a field in Dedham.

"This occurred on May 6, before the lockdown was relaxed.

"Drinking alcohol with people of other households in fields some distance from one's home address was not one of the permitted reasons to be out during the Covid-19 lockdown.

"Similarly, neither was giving Strongbow Dark Fruits to someone else's cows.

"We had previously received reports on April 20 that two men had set a firework off in the boating lake in Castle Park in Colchester.

"This occurred in the early afternoon when law-abiding members of the local community were using the area for their daily exercise. The two men involved in this incident have been identified as two of the same men involved in the Dedham incident.

"Those who repeatedly flout the government lockdown rules put people's lives at risk.

"They also put extra strain on the NHS and other public services, and it is unfair on the large majority of our community who has made, and continue to make, significant sacrifices during this period.

"Three men have now been issued with a total of five fixed penalty notices for breaching the Covid-19 regulations."

So far, Essex Police has handed out 165 fines for breaching lockdown with Chief Constable BJ Harrington praising the public for their efforts.

Fines for those breaching regulations for the first time are now £100, up from £60 when the two incidents happened.

Payment of the fixed penalty notice within 14 days will reduce the sum to £50. The maximum for repeat offenders is now £3,200.