2:39 pm, February 16, 2021
Police have raided a car garage that had been set up as a makeshift pub and dubbed ‘The Covid Arms’.
Officers burst into the workshop, walked past ramps where cars were being repaired and found 13 people drinking pints of beer and watching television.
In the video – which you can watch above starting at 1:48 – officers find a sign had been created for the wall emblazoned ‘The Covid Arms’ and shocked drinkers.
West Midlands Police found the revellers in the car garage in Dudley Port on Saturday at 7.30pm.
Tables had been set up next to the workshop in the industrial unit just off the A461. The television had been mounted on a Land Rover that was in for repairs.
Revellers can be heard gasping as the officer walks in and counts out the number of people sat drinking in the garage.
Telling them to turn the music off, the officer says ‘it’s unlucky 13’ and adds: ‘Whether you believe it or not, Covid-19 exists. All here, with all due respect, should know better.
‘We’re all grown up and you shouldn’t be doing it.’
The officer throws out everyone apart from the man serving behind the bar and apologies for ‘spoiling the party’.
The garage owner – who has not been named – was handed a £1,000 fine.
Assistant Chief Constable Chris Todd of West Midlands Police said: ‘Our officers continue to work long and hard to protect the public and reduce the spread of this deadly virus by breaking up these gatherings, often in really difficult circumstances.
‘While there’s much to be hopeful of in terms of the rollout of coronavirus vaccines, people must remember that we are still in lockdown and the virus is still a real threat to communities across the West Midlands.
‘We thank those people who are supporting our efforts to keep the public safe by sticking to the rules and staying home. They are saving lives.’
