Beer gardens are rammed as thousands ignore social distancing rules on hottest day of the year
Friday drinkers flock to pubs on the hottest day of the year: Beer gardens are rammed as thousands ignore social distancing rules
- Pubgoers crammed into beer gardens on the hottest day of the year so far but appeared to ignore restrictions
- People seen standing in large groups with only a small distance between them at a pub in Notting Hill, London
- Others flocked to popular beach destinations such as Brighton and Bournemouth as the sun shone over UK
- Comes as from today areas of north of England forced into lockdown and unable to meet other households
By Lydia Catling For Mailonline
Published: 10:35 EDT, 31 July 2020 | Updated: 10:59 EDT, 31 July 2020
Groups of Friday drinkers have flocked to pubs on the hottest day of the year with beer gardens rammed as thousands of people ignore social distancing rules.
As temperatures have risen across the country on what has been the hottest day of the year so far, people have been seen standing close together in pubs, contrary to recommendations from the government.
One pub in west London was flouting the social distancing guidelines with large crowds of people gathering outside in the beer garden this afternoon.
Huge groups of people gathered outside The Westbourne in Notting Hill, London, this afternoon as the temperatures reached high as 97F
People appeared to ignore the current social distancing restrictions as they stood drinking in close proximity to each other
Security staff were reported to have ignored the pubgoers flouting social distancing rules and did not do anything to intervene
The huge group at The Westbourne pub, in Notting Hill, was spilling out into the street from the designated beer garden which has been created with red ropes and cones.
People stood chatting and drinking in the scorching sunshine seemingly unfazed by the breach of government-ordered social distancing rules.
The popular pub is often frequented by famous faces such as Lady Gaga, Rita Ora, Frank Lampard and Kelly Brook.
Elsewhere sunseekers flocked to coastal hotspots across the country again today as the temperatures reached as high as 97F.
A designated area, separated by red rope and cones, was set up as the large crow of visitors spilled into the street from the seating area
The popular pub is known to host several well known faces such as Lady Gaga, Rita Ora and Frank Lampard
Have you seen pubgoers ignoring social distancing?
Email lydia.catling@mailonline.co.uk
Social distancing guidelines were also ignored at several popular beaches where people crammed onto the sand in close proximity of each other.
In a bid to reduce increasing traffic jams on warmer days, Brighton and Bournemouth councils urged sunseekers to stay away amid a surge to beaches across Britain today to enjoy a day out.
It comes as last night new restrictions to stop the increasing spread of coronavirus across Greater Manchester and parts of east Lancashire and West Yorkshire were announced.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said around 4.5million people in the north of England will be banned from meeting others from different households in their homes and gardens from today.
However, households will be able to go to bars, pubs and other hospitality venues but two households should not go together, the Department of Health and Social Care confirmed.
According to the most recent figures from Public Health England (PHE) the rate of infection is increasing across 13 of the 19 local authorities in the areas where the new measures are being imposed.
For example, in Blackburn with Darwen, the rate has risen from 83.3 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days to July 20 to 89.3 in the seven days to July 27. A total of 133 new cases have been recorded.
