A café owner in Gedling has been told to pay fines of more than £11,000 by magistrates after persistently flouting Covid-19 restrictions.
Police said that in November last year Christine Stala opened The Mustard Seed on Main Road despite such outlets not being allowed to open due to the pandemic.
She opened the café numerous times and refused to close, despite being fined the maximum amount for doing so.
Eventually the local council was forced to serve her with a closure notice.
She was yesterday (July 5) found guilty at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court of six offences of contravening regulations by failing to close and continuing to serve food and drink to customers at the outlet between 12 and 19 November 2020.
She must now pay fines of more than £11,000.
Stala, 70, was handed a £1,760 fine for each offence, totalling £10,560, ordered to pay £510 prosecution costs and a £190 victim surcharge after being convicted in her absence at court yesterday (Monday, July 5, 2021).
The café had previously been served with a three-month closure order in November, secured by Gedling Borough Council and served by Nottinghamshire Police, following a number of Covid breaches.
Assistant Chief Constable Steve Cooper said: “These blatant breaches of the restrictions were committed during a period when there was a rising number of Covid deaths and increasing numbers of people being infected and admitted to hospital.
“Despite multiple visits, advice and warnings, previous fines and a closure order, the café owner still chose to ignore the rules by allowing people to come inside and be served.
“During the pandemic it has been paramount for all businesses to follow the local and national restrictions laid out by government to help stop the spread of Covid however, the proprietor blatantly ignored the rules which were in place to protect everyone and prevent the spread of the virus and continued to keep her premises running.
“Nottinghamshire Police officers have continued to engage, explain and encourage people to follow the rules in the first instance but, as we have consistently shown, where necessary we have not hesitated to take enforcement action against businesses or individuals who have persisted in blatantly breaching the regulations, despite our advice and guidance.”
Gedling Borough Council leader John Clarke said: “Residents and businesses in Gedling and across the country have had to make a number of sacrifices to keep each other safe.
“At the height of the pandemic, when thousands were in hospital, the owners of this café decided they would break the lockdown rules and open up without any regard for the health and safety of nearby residents.
“We had no choice but to prosecute and, while I understand people have a right to protest, they should not be doing things that could cause others harm and I welcome the court’s decision to find them guilty of these offences.”
Serves her right.
A complete disregard to the Law and her selfish actions put Gedling inhabitants at more risk so good on the legal system…………..All should boycott her store now as she clearly has no interest in the wellbeing of local inhabitants of Gedling and thinks she’s above the Law!
The people who went to her cafe are as bad as her