Hotel manager fined £10k after breaching Covid rules

A hotel manager has been fined £10,000 after breaching Covid-19 regulations by hosting a funeral party with “hundreds” of attendees, according to West Midlands police.

The Castle Bromwich Hall Hotel in Solihull has also been banned by the local council from holding any events until January 2021 following the gathering which was attended by over 200 people.

It comes as Government guidelines state that while a “modest” number of close friends and family can attend a funeral, this number should not exceed 30.

Following the funeral party on 25 September, nine calls were made to police to report the large gathering and loud music at the hotel. 

Officers found more than 200 people in attendance at the scene, and then spoke to staff at the hotel in a bid to contact the owner or event organiser.

In addition, it was discovered that the venue did not ask for details of those attending for test and trace purposes, while proper social distancing was not observed.

Solihull Council said: “The Council is of the view that holding such events poses a serious and imminent threat to Public Health. Events that have been held have not had adequate social distancing arrangements in place, which is in contravention of legislation and government guidance designed to help manage the spread of the virus.

“The weekend incident was a clear breach of the rules against mass gatherings introduced across the country to tackle the spread of Covid-19.  This rule was introduced as the virus has been shown to quickly transmit between people in large groups.” 

Solihull borough is currently a government area of national intervention due to the high rate of Covid-19 within the population, which currently stands at 73 out of 100,000.  

In light of this, tighter restrictions have been in place in the area since 9 September, including a ban on households mixing in people’s homes.