Two men have been arrested after police were called to a report of 40 to 50 people gathering at a cafe in Gedling.
The men were detained after refusing to give their details when officers attempted to give them £200 fixed penalty notices for breaching Covid-19 regulations.
It arrests were made after officers were called to the Mustard Seed cafe in Main Road at 4.20pm yesterday (Saturday, November 14).
On arrival the premises was locked with a large number of people inside – despite the health protection regulations.
It comes after officers had earlier visited the premises, at around 1.45pm, to support Gedling Borough Council after reports the cafe was continuing trading.
Chief Inspector Rob Shields, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Officers attended to engage with and disperse people who had gathered in contravention of the national lockdown.
“Two men refused to disperse and refused to give their details to be issued with fixed penalty notices so they were arrested.
“The lockdown legislation is intended to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and protect the NHS.
“Most people across the county have been playing their part in minimising the spread of the virus but sadly there remain a few people who refuse to adhere to our efforts to engage, explain and educate and consequently we will not hesitate to enforce the regulations.”
Readers had reported spotting customers inside the premises, sending pictures to Gedling Eye on Friday.
A sign on the door last week said the business was ‘exercising their right to earn a living’ and quoting Article 61of Magna Carta 1215, said the owners had ‘a right to enter into lawful dissent if we feel we are being governed unjustly.”
A trespass sign was also posted to the door that stated ‘business being conducted here is run strictly under common law’.
It stated ‘law-abiding men and women are permitted to enter as patrons. All corporate persons or Crown agents enter here as trespassers’ and ‘will be prosecuted’.
Gedling Eye has attempted to contact the business owners for a comment.
These people have ejected Catholics browsing for bibles from their shop in the past.
They have exhibited xenophobic behaviour towards people I personally know, and stock materials ‘under the counter’, which are ethically questionable. When they re open (hopefully legally), go in there and see if they’re still citing the passage Magna Carta then.
Knuckle dragging idiots – they get everywhere don’t they; although its hardly a surprise there is a nest of them in religious bookshop.
Good luck to you guys. Well done for standing up to the plandemic
Is this where all the misinformation stickers at the bus stops come from? I’m a nurse at the hospital. I guarantee you covid is real and encourage everyone to stick to the rules – You really don’t want to catch it! You may get no symptoms, but you might be unlucky. Load the dice in your favour and stick to the rules!
It’s still open this morning serving customers sat in the cafe 16 November
Seems a bit heavy handed to me.
It’s interesting to see the double standard – £200 fixed penalties to those attending and a £1000 fine to the owners. A student party on the other hand saw a £10k fine for the host and £200 for everyone attending. A gym owner refusing to close received a £67k fine.
The cafe keeps breaking the law and refusing to cooperate, with multiple visits from police and media coverage but the punishment has remained mild.
Why so softly softly here? Cases in Gedling are going up.
Should have forced closure earlier, the police in Belgium don’t pussyfoot about, there would have been closed within minutes, not days.