Covid: Police call for new boss at Dewsbury pub over rule-breaking
- Published
Police visited the Woodman Inn in Dewsbury in January after an anonymous tip-off
The licensee of a pub who broke Covid rules by allowing people to gather and watch football on TV during lockdown should be removed, police have said.
Following an anonymous tip-off, police visited The Woodman pub in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, in January and found 11 people watching a Leeds United match.
The licensee was served with a £1,000 fine for breaking Covid lockdown laws.
Police have said they will call for a change of pub management at a council licensing panel meeting in March.
According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, of the 11 people found in the pub in Batley Carr on 10 January, five did not live at the site.
They broke coronavirus rules by gathering together to watch Leeds United play Crawley Town on TV.
Bottles and glasses were found on the bar; foam was found in the drip tray; no-one was wearing PPE; and social distancing was not in place, footage from police body cameras shows.
That footage is expected to be shown at Kirklees Council's licensing panel on 3 March as police call for the licensee's removal.
Officers had earlier been called to the pub before the pandemic due to underage drinking, fighting and a reported sexual assault on a 17-year-old.
In November 2019, a 16-year-old was seriously injured in a mass brawl outside the pub.
In May 2020, during the first coronavirus lockdown, police discovered the licensee receiving a haircut from a friend who did not live at the address. Both received a warning.
In October 2020, when pubs had reopened after the first lockdown, The Woodman was threatened with closure if it did not improve.
An environmental health report found customers were free to enter the pub and walk round with no face covering or social distancing.
The Tadcaster Pub Company, which runs the Woodman, has described it as "a quality establishment" and the licensee as a "hard-working and valued member of the community".
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