Rule breakers hoping to snatch a few waves at a surfing hotspot in the Far North have been caught by police, with the officer involved asking Kiwis to follow level 4 rules.
Police managed to catch up with three surfers, including one man who travelled about an hour from his home in Taipa to catch a few waves.
Local iwi had locked the gate to stop non-residents from getting into Shipwreck Bay, but several parked up their cars and made the trip by foot.
Police dropped the Taipa man and his surfboard at his parked car, but he wasn’t keen on speaking to 1 NEWS.
Kaitaia Senior Sergeant Dan Williams said the man was educated about Level 4 lockdown and let off with a warning.
"This afternoon, we responded to some calls from locals who reported a car known to come from out of the area with a member in the water," William said.
"We confirmed that... and educated him about the restrictions here that are in place with Level 4."
While tracking down the non-local surfer, William said two other surfers were also located and removed from the water, but the pair were residing at a nearby campsite.
The senior sergeant asked the public to follow the rules in place for Alert Level 4 to make life for the police force easier.
"I've got a lot of colleagues doing the mahi - we'd prefer to be in the prevention space than the responding to things like this because stuff like this can be avoided."
At Alert Level 4, exercise and recreation is limited to going for a walk, run or bike ride in your local area, but it must be done at a two-metre distance from others.
Activities that may require search and rescue services - such as swimming, boating, hunting, tramping or surfing - are not allowed.
Police in marked and unmarked cars have been visiting popular holiday spots after reports that thousands of visitors made it into the North following Tuesday’s lockdown announcement.
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