Police have handed out yet another £10,000 fine to a venue in the West Midlands after it tried to pass off an event in a specially constructed marquee as an outdoor event.
Officers were called to Lab 11 on Saturday night following concerns that different households were mixing – which is currently banned as Birmingham’s covid alert level is currently at ‘high’.
A huge marquee had been set up, with 100 to 120 people inside it at the venue in Trent Street, Digbeth.
Sgt Nick Giess, from Birmingham police’s licensing team, said:
“The venue tried to argue that it was an outdoor event, but there were walls and a roof so it was essentially a building and did not fall into the same category as a beer garden.
“We spoke to people sat at five tables, and four of them had people from different households on.
“People were being allowed to freely move around without masks on and dance to really loud music – all of which goes against the rules that have been put in place to stop the virus spreading.
“People shouldn’t think that we’re trying to stop people’s fun. It’s the opposite – we’re trying to protect people and limit the spread of the virus so that restrictions can hopefully be eased.”
It’s the fourth £10,000 fine that we’ve handed out in recent weeks.
A shisha lounge, hotel manager and illegal rave organiser have all previously been hit with the fines.