A pub landlord fined £1,000 for letting a group of six people drink and watch horse-racing during Covid restrictions was "trying to butter up investors".
David Moore, of Whatcroft Close, Runcorn, appeared at North Cheshire Magistrates’ Court in Warrington on November 30, having pleaded guilty to two counts of contravening a Covid-19 requirement to close a restricted business.
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In addition to the fine he was ordered to pay a £100 surcharge and £85 in prosecution costs.
Court papers said the 38-year-old had previously denied the two counts, both relating to March 16, 2021.
Charge descriptions said the breach occurred because “the landlord and six other people were drinking and watching horse-racing”.
The former accountant told the ECHO he bought the former Quayside pub on Canal Street in February 2020.
By the following month the nation was plunged into lockdown as the pandemic swept the globe.
He rebranded the pub the “Lockdown Pub and Kitchen” and a year of uncertainty followed with varied degrees of restrictions as the dad-of-two looked to keep the venture afloat.
Although Government support grants helped, he said this wasn’t enough.
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The new landlord said the building needed a lot of work and to that end he sought investors so he could install features such as a roof terrace, and on March 16, he claims he hosted a business meeting to discuss financing the project.
He told the ECHO that he then served free drinks and let them watch some horse-racing while “socially-distanced” as he sought to “butter them up” to buy into his dream.
Cheshire Police were called to the venue after reports of people seen "coming and going" into the premises.
He said: “We bought this place during Covid, right at the start.
“We didn’t expect to have to lock down straight away.
“We managed to get it open in September and had a month-and-a-half then another lockdown then at the end of December we were put into full lockdown.
“We managed to get the December profits to cover the first couple of months of costs and the Government was giving us enough here and there but basically it wasn’t enough to get us to the reopening stage.
“At that time I needed to find finance to cover that period so I invited eight people, six turned up, and it was to do with investor finance.
"I showed them what we had done with the place, showed them there was potential in this part of England, and the function room needed doing and then after that I allowed them to watch a couple of races, and to butter them up more than anything else.”
Following the hearing, a Cheshire Police spokeswoman said: "At 3.30pm on March 16 police receive a call reporting a Covid-19 lockdown breach at a pub on Canal Street in Runcorn.
"The breach involved allegations that the pub was open to watch Cheltenham Festival races and serving alcohol to customers.
"Police attended to find seven people inside the pub who were issued tickets."
