Brazen Covid rule-breakers were caught red-handed playing pool and boozing in a 'pop-up pub'.
Officers found a makeshift bar and a huge television with the football on when they broke up the illegal gathering in Leicester last night.
Punters had gathered in the premises to watch Leicester City's FA Cup tie against Brighton, LeicestershireLive reports.
The seven men caught inside the boozer were handed £200 fines for breaching coronavirus rules.
No money appeared to be exchanged in the pop-up pub and there was no till present.
Sergeant Ben Widdowson said: “Officers acted on information received to carry out effective enforcement leading to seven people being issued with Fixed Penalty Notices.
“Gatherings such as this puts the lives of you, your family, your friends and people in your community at risk.
"We will take action on information received and while we continue to encourage, engage and explain in relation to the regulations, we will enforce when clear breaches of the regulations have been made."
Sgt Widdowson added: “Times are challenging for everyone but please stay at home and keep yourselves and others safe.
“We do continue to thank everyone who is complying with the rules and understanding why they are in place as well as to those who are reporting breaches of the regulations to us.”
It comes after the UK's coronavirus death toll increased by 678 in the last 24 hours, with infections up by 13,494.
The figure is down from last Thursday when there were 915 death and a further 20,634 new cases, and represents a drop of 28.6 per cent compared to the previous seven days.
