Cheers! £200m round
DRINKERS sank a staggering 22 million pints over the weekend, as pubs reopened after lockdown.
The nationwide party saw £200million spent to help bolster the battered hospitality trade.
But police warned that many people had ignored social distancing rules as crowds of revellers poured into city centres.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson had urged the nation not to “blow it” as pubs and restaurants threw open their doors for the first time in months on Saturday.
But police have told how some drinkers were not willing to adhere to distancing rules amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Particularly alarming were scenes in London’s Soho and Borough Market areas, which soon became packed with drinkers bunched tightly together.
Pub bosses in Nottinghamshire also decided to shut early after disorder broke out near some of their watering holes.
Busy scenes were also witnessed in Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle and Bristol.
John Apter, chairman of the Police Federation, warned that “drunk people can’t or won’t socially distance”.
He said it is “crystal clear” revellers will not adhere to the one-metre rule.
But Health Secretary Matt Hancock yesterday disagreed, claiming people had largely acted responsibly. He said: “The vast majority of people are, I think, doing the right thing.
“Overall I’m pleased with what happened yesterday. It was really good to see people out and about and very largely social distancing.”
As pubs, restaurants and cafes all threw open their doors for the first time in 104 days, there were scenes of revelry around the country.
Pub-goers are believed to have sunk 15 million pints at 23,000 establishments across the
country on Saturday and then around half that number on Sunday.
Councils said people had generally behaved well. But crowds ignoring social distancing were seen at locations in central London.
Rafal Liszewski, a store manager in Soho, described crowds in the area on Saturday night as “out of control”, adding: “Saturday started very easy. But you could feel tension in the air. Everything got out of control and by 9pm it was a proper street party with people dancing and drinking.
“Barely anyone was wearing masks and nobody respected social distancing.
“With that many people on one street it was physically impossible.”
As drinks flowed, tempers also boiled over, with four people arrested in Brentwood, Essex, following a disturbance.
In Nottinghamshire, some pub owners took the decision to close after incidents of anti-social behaviour. Windows were smashed and at least one person was assaulted as police dealt with several incidents.
Four people were arrested and five pubs decided to shut early in a bid to prevent any further trouble.
Police said three pubs in Mansfield and Sutton-in-Ashfield, plus two in nearby Arnold and Newark, closed up.
In Leicester, where a local lockdown has been enforced due to a spike in coronavirus cases, police placed “more officers on duty than on New Year’s Eve”. Devon and Cornwall Police said they had received more than 1,000 reports on the so-called Super Saturday, most of which were “drinkrelated”.The Met Police said there had not been any “major