A punter's receipt claiming to show an order of almost £500 of booze with just one portion of Scotch egg as the 'substantial meal' has gone viral - but not everyone is convinced.
The bill, which is doing the rounds on social media, shows the itemised list of 63 pints of Peroni and 12 glasses of Prosecco, as well as one chorizo Scotch egg priced at £7.25.
Under coronavirus restrictions in tier two areas, rules state drinks can only be served in a pub if they are ordered alongside a 'substantial meal', and customers must leave once the meal is over.
The receipt appears to show visitors at a pub in London finding a way around the restrictions, but not everyone is convinced the cropped image is showing the whole story.
One person commented to ask: "What other food was on the receipt?"
And another said: "What’s below the scotch egg? Reckon it was 62 servings of chips, with each consisting of about six fat chips in a Jenga tower, served on a table tennis bat or something suitable fake trendy of course."
But others were far more concerned about the breakdown of the bill, as one wrote: "It’s the price of a scotch egg in that there fancy London that gets me."
A second replied: "Thought the beer was pricy but the price of that precious egg is ridiculous."
And another added: "London eh, they'd charge u for the air u breathe if they could."
With some uncertainty among punters as to what constitutes a substantial meal, LBC host Nick Ferrari sought clarification from George Eustice, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, last week.
After putting forward a Scotch egg as a suggestion, Mr Eustice replied to say: "I think a Scotch egg probably would count as a substantial meal if there were table service.
"And often that may be as a starter. But yes, I think it would."
