Sports club fined for serving alcohol during lockdown

A sports club in Cornwall has been fined £1,000 for serving alcohol inside the premises in breach of Covid regulations.

A Covid Enforcement Officer from Cornwall Council issued the fixed penalty notice on Wednesday, in liaison with Devon and Cornwall Police.

Under the current restrictions, hospitality venues including pubs, bars and social clubs must remain closed, with the exception of providing food and non-alcoholic drinks for takeaway (until 11pm).

The fixed penalty notice was issued after members of the club were found to be drinking alcohol inside the licensed premises on January 15th.

Cllr Rob Nolan, Portfolio Holder for Environment and Public Protection, said:

"This club put both its members and the local community at risk.

"The number of cases in Cornwall remains higher than we would like and it is simply unacceptable that these selfish individuals ignored the restrictions to drink socially.

"We will always work with businesses to help explain the rules and how best to enforce them. In this instance, the business clearly knew that it was breaching the regulations and there is no excuse for this.

"If businesses have questions or concerns, we urge them to get in touch. For the minority who refuse to follow the rules, we will not hesitate to take action."

Since the start of the pandemic, Cornwall Council has taken enforcement action against six businesses for Covid breaches.

The club has 14 days to appeal to notice.

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