'What exactly constitutes 'local' when it comes to exercise?' We have answered this tough question being widely debated at the moment.

A clarity of the Covid-19 rules was raised after two women received £200 fixed penalty notices after travelling five miles from their homes for a walk.

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The pair were told by Derbyshire police officers the beauty spot was not local to them and the takeaway coffees they were clutching were not allowed as they were classed as a picnic.

However, the fines have been retracted and police were forced to apologise to the pair, but the incident prompts a number of questions about the rules exercise so we at The News have answered the below.

So what encompasses your 'local area'? Almost every other post on social media appears to debate the same question, with some believing this should only be within walking distance while others argue that anywhere with a couple of miles could still be called 'local'.

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The official National Lockdown guidelines state that exercise “should be done locally wherever possible, but you can travel a short distance within your area to do so if necessary (for example, to access an open space)."

This definition doesn’t offer a lot of help on specific distances, but a comment from the Department of Health and Social Care earlier this week gives a better indication.

They say the term ‘local area’ in this context has not been legally defined.

"However, people should be sensible about this - if you do leave home for a permitted reason, you should stay local in the village, town, or part of the city where you live - unless there is a justifiable reason not to do so (for example, you need to travel further for work or to avoid harm)."