A local business owner has received a £1,000 fixed penalty notice after breaking COVID-19 restrictions by serving alcohol to customers.
Police were called to a farm in Mudgley near Wedmore, on Saturday 30th January and found several customers had been served cider by a member of staff.
People inside the premises were seen congregated around tables, not socially distancing or wearing face masks, as shown in this video footage below, released by Police.
The business owner told police he was providing customers with samples of cider and conceded he knew he was in breach of the regulations. He was issued with a £1,000 fixed penalty notice.
Police also made Sedgemoor District Council’s licensing team aware of the incident.
Acting Sergeant Matthew Shaqer says: “The COVID-19 regulations are clear that alcohol cannot be served to customers for on-site consumption at this current time. Several people could be seen sat at tables with a glass of cider in a clear breach of the regulations.”
“It was shocking to walk into the premises and find so many people there. Any one of them could have had the virus but been asymptomatic and spread the virus to a number of other households.”
“We will continue to engage with the public, explain the rules and encourage them to comply, but with deliberate flagrant breaches of the legislation people can expect to be fined.”
“We appreciate the vast majority of people are however complying with the rules and are making sacrifices to their daily lives to limit the spread of COVID-19 and we thank them for doing so.”
Breaches of COVID-19 regulations that are happening can be reported on 101, while long-standing issues can be reported online through our website.
