White Horse pub in Sudbury issues warning over risk of people becoming complacent with coronavirus safety guidelines

The owner of a pub in Sudbury is urging people to be more mindful of the safety measures imposed to prevent the transmission of coronavirus.

Ashley Addison, who runs the White Horse with husband, Gary, has raised concerns that, while a majority of customers have been abiding by the Government’s safety guidelines, a small minority are becoming too complacent with the rules.

“Each pub has been following the guidelines that works for them,” she said. “But, there’s no consistency with customers, and, especially when they’ve had a drink,” said-the-mother-of-two, who highlighted that establishments across the country are already under a great deal of strain with managing the additional measures.

“A lot of businesses have just come out of lockdown and are running on minimal staff,” she said. “We can’t afford to run table service, but we are petrified of losing our business.”

Disappointed that her team have had to tolerate abusive comments from a small group of customers in response to the safety measures being enforced, Mrs Addison said: “My staff shouldn’t have to go through that.”

Keen to reiterate the importance of abiding by the safety guidelines, Mrs Addison shared her concerns on social media.

The online post received praise from a fellow friend who lives in Victoria, in the southern eastern region of Australia, where a state of disaster has been declared, following a spike in Covid-19 cases.

Having kept in touch with family and friends in Australia, Mrs Addison, who is originally from Sydney, said the prospect of a further lockdown - similar to the measures imposed in parts of northern England - was deeply concerning.

“It’s horrible,” she said. “And that scares me as a business owner, and as a mother. I don’t want to lose my business and I don’t want my kids to get sick.”

Hoping that further people will heed the safety rules, Mrs Addison added: “No-one wants to go into lockdown again, so we want to try our best that it doesn’t happen.”