Lancaster University has announced new penalties for students who breach lockdown rules.

The announcement came after three student gatherings on campus were recently discovered which “constitute very serious breaches of university and national COVID-19 regulations”, according to an e mail sent to all students.

Academic Registrar Alison Mullan explained that the new penalties start from £300 fines for minor breaches, while the most serious offences can lead to permanent exclusion from the university.

Breaches in between these two offences can then expect a range of penalties depending on the situation.

The university also assured students that they are dealing with the breaches as a matter of priority.

These penalties are on top of the £10,000 fines which police can already issue to gatherings of 30 or more people.

Lancaster University has increased police presence on campus recently, with the e mail stating that police “are keen to assist the university in monitoring compliance with current government regulations to keep us all safe.”

While the university did acknowledge “these incidents involve a small minority of students”, they added “they are very serious and could potentially put others at risk.”

The email concluded by expressing gratitude for those students who were behaving responsibly.

Lancaster University student, Lily Whitmarsh from Preston said: “I was surprised when I saw that there had been parties at the university, and it makes me really angry because everyone is making sacrifices so it makes you question the point of following the rules when others are having massive parties.

“I’m glad the university are implementing these new penalties but I worry about how effective they’ll be – if you have a party of nearly 100 people, I doubt they’ll be able to track down and fine every person.

“There also shouldn’t just be a focus on campus; I have heard of many house parties in town so there should be a system where you can report breaches off-campus too.”

Between January 12 and 19, only 21 cases were reported in the University, Galgate and Dolphinholme district, this compares to 737 cases in the wider Lancaster area, and 5,728 cases in Lancashire.

Other universities across the UK have also implemented their own penalties, with more than £170,000 worth of fines being issued in the first few weeks of the new academic year in 2020.