A group of anglers were fined after traveling from as far as 120 miles away to fish at the abandoned Mepal Outdoor Centre during lockdown.

Three men received a fixed penalty notice after they visited the county from Northampton, Lowestoft and Wolverhampton on Saturday, April 25.

A spokesman for Cambridgeshire Police said: “We’ve issued three fixed penalty notices to people fishing at the Lake at the old Mepal Outdoor centre in East Cambs.

“We have had numerous reports of fishing there and it is not a designated fishing lake.

“As per the Government guidance and also DEFRA, people should not be leaving their houses in order to go fishing recreationally.

“All three people who were issued tickets have come from outside of Cambridgeshire and were from; Northampton, Lowestoft and Wolverhampton.”

The 30-acre outdoor centre, off the A142 near Chatteris, closed down after it was targeted by vandals during Christmas week in December 2016, who had stolen change from a vending machine before setting it on fire.

The blaze reportedly caused hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of structural damage to the building as well as smoke damage.

The much-loved facility, which boasts a 22-acre lake, climbing wall and giant ropes frame, had been used by schools, youth groups and charities who stayed at the centre’s in-house accommodation block with 38 beds and a staff flat.

Thousands of youngsters would enjoy a number of outdoor activities, such as sailing, archery, canoeing and rock climbing.

After the arson attack, trustees of the Mepal Outdoor Centre - who had been running the charitable enterprise for four years - handed the lease back to landlords East Cambridgeshire District Council and the centre was closed down in February 2017.