Ilford takeaway fined for serving burger after curfew

BIM'S in Ilford was handed a fine for serving a burger four minutes after 10pm

An east London takeaway has been fined £1,000 for serving a burger four minutes after the 10pm curfew.

BIM'S in Ilford Lane, Ilford, was given the fixed penalty notice after a customer placed an order as the restaurant was closing on Thursday.

The Met Police said they had fined the venue for community safety reasons having previously spoken to staff "on a number of occasions".

But a BIM'S spokesman said they felt police should have been "more lenient".

The 10pm curfew for pubs, bars and restaurants in England was introduced by the government following a recent increase in cases of coronavirus.

A spokesman for the restaurant said staff believed they were complying with the law

According to the restaurant, the customer's order was being processed before the 10pm curfew began, while their receipt had been printed at 22:00 BST and their food arrived four minutes later.

BIM's spokesman Colin Grant said staff believed they had been complying with the law as the customer was already in the restaurant and described the situation as an "unfortunate mistake".

He said he believed police could have been "a bit more lenient" with a verbal warning being sufficient.

"I'm sure staff would have taken that on board and in the future they wouldn't serve somebody so close to the deadline," he said.

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In a statement, the Met said officers on patrol "became aware of a venue breaching a curfew as part of the coronavirus regulations with a member of the public still inside the premises.

"Neighbourhood officers had previously engaged with staff at the premises on a number of occasions to explain the new regulations and encourage them to abide by them for the safety of themselves and the local community," they said.