Police have confirmed a man was handed a fine following an alleged anti-mask protest at a shop in Essex. 

Dozens of people were thought to have taken part in the demonstration, which saw them walking around the Tesco store in Princes Road, Chelmsford, without wearing a face covering. 

Tesco says its staff were told by the group they were exempt from wearing masks. 

Essex Police has confirmed officers were called to the shop at around 12.30pm on Saturday (March 29) to deal with the incident. 

A spokesman for the force said the group, which was made up of between 20 to 30 people, had refused to wear masks when asked to do so by shop staff. 

Read more:

They then left the store a few minutes later and were in the car park when officers arrived. 

The spokesman added: "We engaged with them and encouraged them to leave the area.

"Enforcement is a last resort for our officers, but one man was issued with a fixed penalty notice and a ticket for driving whilst using a mobile phone.

"No further concerns were raised and the group left the area.

"We would encourage anyone who has information about covid breaches to continue to report them to us and we will respond to keep people safe.

"We’d like to thank the majority of Essex residents, who have been working hard to keep themselves and others safe throughout the pandemic."

The alleged protest has been condemned after a video of the group went viral on Twitter. 

Chelmsford Council tweeted it was disappointed by the incident. 

Tesco says its staff will 'encourage' customers to comply with the legal requirement to wear a face covering but will not 'put themselves at risk if challenged'.