Lancashire pub landlord fined £1,000 as lockdown breaches surge at weekend

A landlord has been fined £1,000 after he was found serving pints at his pub in Pendle, as lockdown breaches surged across Lancashire at the weekend.
In total, Lancashire Police issued 162 fines and received 544 reports for alleged breaches of lockdown rules at the weekendIn total, Lancashire Police issued 162 fines and received 544 reports for alleged breaches of lockdown rules at the weekend
In total, Lancashire Police issued 162 fines and received 544 reports for alleged breaches of lockdown rules at the weekend

The pub in Nelson has not been named by police, but Detective Chief Constable Terry Woods told BBC Radio that the incident was one of 544 reported breaches of lockdown restrictions over the weekend.

Another serious breach was a report of a Blackburn man who failed to self-isolate after returning to Lancashire from abroad.

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DCC Woods said his officers had visited the man's home at the request of the Border Agency, to check that he was complying with the requirement to self-isolate after arriving back in the UK.

The majority of lockdown reports, said DDC Woods, were complaints about illegal house parties and unnecessary travelThe majority of lockdown reports, said DDC Woods, were complaints about illegal house parties and unnecessary travel
The majority of lockdown reports, said DDC Woods, were complaints about illegal house parties and unnecessary travel

But officers said there was no sign of him at his registered address in Blackburn. As a result, the man has been fined £1,000 and will be prosecuted, said DCC Woods.

In total, police issued 162 fines for alleged breaches of lockdown rules on Saturday and Sunday, and received 360 more reports than the previous weekend.

The majority of reports, said DDC Woods, were complaints about illegal house parties and unnecessary travel.

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"By goodness, there's a lot of tickets being issued at the moment to people not doing their best," he told BBC Radio Lancashire this morning (Wednesday, February 24).

"So over the weekend, a busy weekend again. I sound like a stuck record I know, but it's still the same picture.

"We had 544 Covid incidents this weekend which is quite a big rise. It was 360 the weekend before and we issued 162 tickets over the weekend.

"The two main areas, as always at the minute, and by a country mile, are house parties and gatherings in houses, followed secondly by unnecessary travel.

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"A couple of jobs of note. One was a pub in Nelson where we got information from the public that they were open and serving. We attended and after gaining entry to that found the licensee serving to some customers. He was fined £1000.

"And then the second one was, we had a guy from Blackburn who had returned from abroad and the Border Agency had given us some information and we attended and he wasn't isolating as you've got to when you've been abroad and he was also prosecuted and fined for that."

The majority of people, however, do continue to stick to the rules, DCC Terry Woods added.

He thanked those who were abiding by the coronavirus regulations and said that police are focusing their time and attention on the "minority who are not doing their best".

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He said: "So I would say, the sort of broader context as always is, thank you very much to the majority.

"We're seeing the majority of people really trying their best and just the reassurance to that majority that we're really focusing and targeting on the minority and you know, by goodness there's a lot of tickets being issued at the moment to people not doing their best."