Birmingham pub fined £1,000 for allowing wedding party to continue after 10pm curfew

Police found between 60 and 70 people gathered with no social distancing being observed
The party was shut down at midnight after police were called
West Midlands Police
Imogen Braddick4 October 2020
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A pub has been fined £1,000 for allowing a wedding party to continue after midnight - two hours after it should have closed under coronavirus restrictions.

West Midlands Police were called to reports of a lock-in at The Greyhound in Erdington, Birmingham, and found a wedding party with drinks still being served, a DJ set up and a gazebo in the garden.

The force had a complaint about noise and the size of the gathering from a member of the public, and found between 60 and 70 people gathered with no social distancing being observed.

A buffet table full of trays of food can be seen in police bodycam footage.

Police said they dispersed the guests and then met the licensee earlier this week.

The force said on Twitter: "No officer wants to barge in on someone’s wedding day – but we’ve got a duty to enforce these new rules to protect not only the guests, but their loved ones and the people they’ll come into contact with."

Sgt Nick Giess, licensing lead for Birmingham, said it was a "double whammy of breaches".

"Not only were they hosting a wedding party of around 60, which was twice the number allowed at the time, but they were still open at midnight with no signs of shutting down.

"No officer wants to barge in on someone’s wedding day – but we’ve got a duty to enforce these new rules to protect not only the guests, but their loved ones and the people they’ll come into contact with.

"Our officers took a sensible approach and chose not to fine the guests, but those running licensed premises should know better.

"We’ve decided to impose a £1,000 fine, and not the £10,000 maximum, because it was on a much smaller scale than some other events, and the pub has not been in trouble with us before."

The 10pm curfew was brought in by the Government as part of a new package of measures to slow the spread of coronavirus infections and reduce the risk of a second national lockdown.

Restaurateurs and bar owners have said they are being unfairly targeted by a restriction on an industry that accounts for a tiny proportion of cases.

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