Three people were issued with fines at Llanrhaeadr Waterfall yesterday amid concern that differences in lockdown rules either side of the border are confusing the public.

Llanfyllin Police said on Twitter that "three tickets and multiple warnings" had been handed out to people from the West Midlands and Liverpool.

"Persons stated they thought that current relaxed English lockdown rules applied to Wales," the force added.

England and Wales diverged on lockdown rules last week. Wales has stuck with its Stay At Home message, despite some minor tweaks, while England has relaxed rules to allow people to drive to take exercise.

Road checks are continuing in mid Wales, and another post on social media said that in Trewern, of 60 to 70 cars that were stopped, between 10 and 12 had been sent home – mainly because they too were unaware of the difference in the rules between the two countries.

There are also reports on social media suggesting that Welshpool town centre was busier on Thursday than at other times during the lockdown.

Similar messages about a lack of understanding of the divergence in lockdown rules have also been reported in north Wales.

Dyfed-Powys Police's chief constable Mark Collin said: "We need to be very sensible and pragmatic about this. People can come into Wales or visit garden centres of hardware stores, and people from our communities can go into England to do exactly the same thing.

"But my clear message is, no non-essential travel, keep your exercising to and from your home addresses, and together we will protect the NHS, we will save more lives, and we will keep those infections low."