Owner of Bungay restaurant fined £1,000 after police found customers eating food inside premises in breach of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions

A Suffolk restaurant owner has been fined £1,000 for failing to close his business after police officers found customers eating food inside the premises and drinking at the bar in a breach of current Covid-19 restrictions.

Suffolk Police officers visited the Spice of Balti in Bungay after concerns raised by members of the public during the latest national lockdown restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of coronavirus - under which restaurants must be closed for consumption on the premises, but can sell food and non-alcoholic drinks on takeaway and delivery basis.

The restaurant's owner, Shams Uddin, has since been served with a fixed penalty notice of £1,000.

While officers said the way the restaurant was operating was 'risking the spread' of Covid-19 to customers and the wider community, the licence holder of the business is since understood to have agreed to change the conditions on the premises licence to be compliant in future.

Council officials in East Suffolk are now reminding businesses in the area that they must adhere to the national restrictions set out by the Government in response to Covid-19.

Cllr Mary Rudd, East Suffolk’s cabinet member for community health, said: “We understand that businesses want to remain fully open however the restrictions are in place for a reason and with the challenges of the new variants which are currently in circulation and spreading rapidly, it has never been more important that we all follow the rules to help defeat this virus.

"The restrictions clearly show which businesses must close and financial support is available for those businesses affected.

"These are difficult times, for everyone, but we must continue to stick to the rules to help keep people safe.”

Meanwhile, police said the action was a 'good example of partnership working' between the force and East Suffolk Council.

Inspector Claire Simons from the Neighbourhood Partnership Team in Lowestoft said: “The venue in question was operating in such a way as to cause the risk of the spread of a deadly disease to their customers and potentially others in the wider community.

"Suffolk Constabulary are addressing the wider issues with the licence holder who has agreed to alter the conditions on his premises licence to enable the business to be compliant moving forward.”

For more details on which businesses must be closed during the current national Covid-19 restrictions, visit the Government website.

For information on business grants available to firms that have had to close in line with the national restrictions which came into force on January 5, visit the East Suffolk Council website.

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