Southsea restaurant alleged to have opened bar to punters despite lockdown regulations

And a nurse says she is furious that people were ‘playing Russian roulette with everybody’s lives’ by going out like this.

As per the guidelines laid out by the government, restaurants, bars, clubs and other hospitality venues are closed to the public due to the coronavirus outbreak.

On Friday, May 15, police received reports of customers being served at the bar of a venue in Osborne Road.

But despite a photograph appearing to show that lockdown guidelines may have been flouted, the police say no further action will be taken.

The photo showed a number of people spilling out onto the street, drinking from plastic cups.A spokesman from Hampshire Constabulary said: ‘We were called just before 5.15pm to a report of a pub serving customers in Osborne Road, Southsea.

‘Our licensing team attended the pub and discussed the regulations with the owner. No further action was required.’

Julia Lawrenson, a community nurse from Fratton, was outraged when she saw the scenes, which she said were ‘putting lives at risk’.‘These people are playing Russian roulette with everybody’s lives by going out like this,’ she told The News after sharing an image of people gathering outside the restaurant.‘Seeing this is disgusting. There are other ways you can go out safely to meet family or friends.’

A previous edition of this story suggested that the restaurant involved was Algarve’s Grill. This has turned out to be inaccurate and we apologise for the error.

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