Confusion over Thetford drinking ban and Red Lion pub’s outdoor seating area

Pub goers could be breaching a ban on drinking alcohol in a town by using its outdoor seating area, critics have warned.

The Red Lion pub in Thetford currently uses the town’s market place as a spill-over for its customers and uses planter boxes to form a make-shift cordon around the space.

But the area is also under a strict ban on drinking alcohol, as part of a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) imposed by Breckland Council.

It has left locals wondering whether they are at risk of being fined if drinking at the pub or questioning how the police can enforce the measure when pub goers are spilling out into the Market Place.

One concerned Theford resident, Josh, who did not wish to use his surname, said: “It is like an oasis in the middle of the alcohol ban, or perhaps Switzerland in the Second World War.

“It risks undermining the police being able to enforce the law and is confusing for people coming into the town.”

The PSPO has been in place for a number of years and covers much of Thetford’s town centre.

It prevents people from drinking alcohol in the area. If caught by police officers, people could face a fixed penalty notice for doing so, or they will be told to stop and give up any alcohol they have on them.

The scheme was brought in to help tidy up the town and to prevent antisocial behaviour associated with street drinking.

Street wardens have been deployed to monitor the streets of Thetford since 2024 to help enforce the PSPO and other offences such as littering.

In a response to a freedom of information request, Breckland Council insisted the use of the area is above board due to the PSPO exemptions for licensed premises.

However, the area used by Red Lion customers is about 10 feet away from the pub and is on Thetford Town Council-owned land.

This means it is outside of the curtilage of the pub, leaving critics unconvinced it is exempt.

Other pubs in the area, such as the Black Lion and the Albion, have clearly defined areas directly outside the pubs which are used by customers.

Josh, 43, says he has nothing against pubs and is known to frequent Thetford’s venues.

But he remains concerned that the seating area causes confusion for all involved.

He added: “What would be the outcome if someone took alcohol they had bought elsewhere and sat in the area used by the Red Lion and drank it – are they in breach of the order?

“If this area is a ‘safe haven’ from the order, presumably, anyone can use it?

“If customers spill out of the area, what then?”

A spokesman for Wetherspoon said: “The area forms part of the pub’s demise for the purpose of the pub’s premises licence for the sale of alcohol and is therefore not subject to a PSPO.

“The area is regularly monitored by staff and planters are positioned to demarcate the boundary.

“The responsible authorities, including the police, have not raised issues regarding the use of the outside area.”

Thetford Town Council, which owns the area leased to Wetherspoon, says it has a premises licence for the entire market place.

PAST TROUBLES

The Red Lion has been serving customers in Thetford’s town centre for hundreds of years with little drama.

But in the early noughties, it became the focus of an extraordinary riot between opposing football fans.

The venue was being run by three Portuguese businessmen in 2004, which was the year when England’s men’s team faced Portugal in the quarter-finals of the Euros.

Following England’s defeat, a mob of 300 people descended on the Red Lion pub, leading to a violent siege where 120 people were left trapped inside.

Police had to call reinforcements from across the region to help quell the disorder.

About a dozen people were arrested.