An online fundraising appeal launched for a Liverpool nightclub which has been fined £1,000 for breaching coronavirus regulations has raised hundreds of pounds in a matter of hours.
The venue, 24 Kitchen Street, was hit with the fine after Merseyside Police officers found a list of rule breaches just hours before even tougher lockdown measures came into place.
Action was taken at the Kitchen Street venue just before 8.30pm on Friday, when police noticed social distancing was not being observed.
Now the organisers of a dance event called Glass Liverpool have organised a fundraiser for the Baltic Quarter club.
At time of writing, the fundraiser has raised £576.
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The organisers posted a message online which read: "We are a new Liverpool dance music event under the name 'Glass', and we have been lucky enough to have been asked to play at Kitchen Street a couple of times and are long time customers ourselves of the venue. The money raised from this will go directly to Kitchen Street to help gain back the money lost from their recent fine."
The organisers said that the fine would be even more financial pressure on the club during a difficult time for everyone in Liverpool's nighttime economy.
Merseyside Police confirmed the licensee was issued with a fixed penalty notice requiring them to pay a fine of £1,000.
A statement shared with the ECHO by the force said: "Officers saw tables with more than six people gathered around them, customers walking around the bar area without face coverings, people drinking and gathered where there was no table, meaning table service rules could not be adhered to, and a lack of social distancing in the smoking area."
In response, 24 Kitchen Street director Ioan Roberts said: "Since reopening, 24 Kitchen Street has done everything within our power to comply with ever changing Covid guidelines, in many ways going above and beyond with customer safety at the heart of our operation.
"This has proven difficult, not least because those in charge often appear unsure of what current guidelines actually are. Customers cannot enter without a mask, and it takes constant monitoring to ensure that people stay in their groups, and wear masks whilst moving throughout the venue (ie go to the toilet).
"Whilst speaking to police, the manager was temporarily unable to enforce these rules, because he was distracted in conversation with the Officers."
Mr Roberts claimed that Merseyside Police had visited the previous week and had "no issues", and that the officer who issued a fine did not wear a mask.
He said: "We will be vigorously contesting the fine, it unfairly scapegoats a small independent business."
And he added: "We really appreciate the support shown by our many customers over the summer. We've done what we can to support music and culture during Covid, however have now decided to close as we are caught between a rock and a hard place. We will be back."
Liverpool's coronavirus infection rate has soared in recent weeks, with Mayor Joe Anderson warning that cases were doubling every six days.
