A HAMPSHIRE MP accepted tickets worth hundreds of pounds to Cheltenham Festival just days before the UK went into coronavirus lockdown, it has been revealed.

MP for Romsey and Southampton North, Caroline Nokes, accepted two tickets worth £600 to the popular four-day horse racing event in Gloucestershire.

Now Ms Nokes has defended her decision to attend the event, which ran from Tuesday, March 10 to Friday, March 13, after more than 250,000 people flocked to the Cotswolds.

According to the Register of Members' Financial Interests, Ms Nokes registered the tickets for the event which was held before the UK went into lockdown on Monday, March 23.

She said: "If you care to look on my register of interests you will see that I registered this myself.

"I am a trustee of World Horse Welfare, a former chief executive of a national equine welfare charity and a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group for the Horse.

"I am not sure it will come as any surprise to anyone that I attend race meetings and numerous other equestrian events every single year."

Ms Nokes added: "I attended Cheltenham which was held prior to any restriction on movement."

Chairman for the Romsey and Southampton North Conservative Association, cllr Nick Adams-King, said: "At the end of the day Caroline is an individual who can make her own choices and I am sure she followed the advice at the time.

"The advice then was clear, as long as people were following the appropriate hand washing regime and following a degree of social distancing it was okay for the event to go ahead at the time."

This comes as public health experts have called for an investigation into whether allowing the Cheltenham Festival to go ahead led to a rise in COVID-19 cases in areas around the racecourse.