Birmingham pub fined £10,000 for holding lock-in with dozens of drinkers

A pub in Birmingham has been fined £10,000 for holding a lock-in which dozens of revellers were caught flouting the coronavirus lockdown rules.

West Midlands Police raided The Spotted Dog in the Digbeth area of the city at 11pm last Friday night and confronted a pub worker.

In footage filmed by an officer’s bodycam, scores of people can be seen inside the pub with music playing in the background.

The gathering took place while Birmingham was still in Tier 2 of local lockdown restrictions, meaning people from different households were not allowed to meet inside.

The pub worker can be heard apologising for the breach of social distancing rules and saying “I know everyone in here”.

When asked by an officer why the pub was open the unidentified man replies: “Everyone’s expecting us to be closed down next week. I know everyone in here. My apologies.”

The officer tells him: “You can’t operate like this. It’s a blatant breach of the covid legislation.”

The man replies: “I know I was wrong tonight. So, my apologies.”

Read more: Pub owner to sell meals for a penny to get round Tier 3 lockdown rules

The clip ends with the officer saying to drinkers: “I’d be grateful if you would put those down, guys, because you are breaking the law.”

A West Midlands Police spokesperson said: “We’ve had to issue yet another £10,000 fine after finding a lock-in at a Birmingham pub, with households mixing inside an hour after it should have shut.

“Our officers arrived at The Spotted Dog in Digbeth at 11pm on Friday 30 October to find music still blaring and a party atmosphere, with no social distancing in place.

Watch: Revellers fill the streets of London before second lockdown

“Officers were told the gathering happened because people were expecting the pub to have to shut within days.

“We’ve now issued a £10,000 fine because of the scale of the breach at the Warwick Street pub.

“It’s the ninth time we’ve issued the so-called super fine, which are reserved for the most serious breaches of law.

Birmingham licensing Sgt Nick Giess said: “This was sadly yet another example of someone who should know the restrictions around coronavirus all too well putting people at risk.

“There were around 40 to 50 people in there, smoking and dancing, and showing no regard for the seriousness of the situation the region and the country finds itself in.”

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