Review date set for Tameside pubs accused of breaking lockdown rules

THE fate of two pubs accused of breaking lockdown rules is likely to be decided by July 14.

The Billy Goat, Mossley and Ashton’s Top End Bar will face Tameside Council’s licensing committee after allegedly being found to have been serving alcohol during the Covid-19 lockdown.The authority could decide to impose strict conditions on the premises or even remove their permit completely.

Consultations on both reviews end in the middle of next month.

Staff at the Top End Bar, Stamford Street, are thought to have been pulling pints when it was meant to have been shut as the Covid-19 crisis means venues cannot open.

It is thought the gate at the front of the establishment was spotted open during a drive past, raising suspicions.

And Ian Hopkins, chief constable of Greater Manchester Police, took the step of publicly naming The Billy Goat on radio for still serving in what is believed to have been a gathering of bar staff and people who live there.“Stop it,” he barked to the pub. “You are putting people’s lives at risk, as well as being very, very selfish to the wider community.”

But licensee Victor Bowers hit back, insisting the chief constable is making a mountain out of a molehill.

He said: “We’re not opening at all. It’s been blown out of all proportion.”

Both premises will have the licenses reviewed at the same meeting.

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