CORONAVIRUS: Whitefield bar could close on Fridays due to abusive customers

Bosses at Northern Crafthouse in Bury New Road have announced that the cocktail venue will be shut this Friday following an incident which forced them to close early last week.

They added that they may have to take the decision to close on future Fridays too if customers' behaviour does not improve.

In a statement on the bar's social media, bosses said: "After assessing the last few weeks we quickly realised that Fridays have been the worst days for us to manage.

"It’s the day we are verbally abused the most. The day the biggest groups of people want to come in. The day more people simply refuse to sit at their own tables.

"Therefore we have made the decision to close this Friday, and will assess subsequent Fridays on a weekly basis.

"Once again we thank the majority, we will do everything we can for your safety and currently this means closing on Friday."

Although the majority of the bar's customers were said to have followed the Covid-19 restrictions, a handful of punters were said to "simply refuse to comply and become abusive & aggressive when asked to do so".

The statement continued: "These people seemingly do not understand or care that we are currently in the middle of a local lockdown and worldwide pandemic.

"Their actions compromise our staff and customers safety in the process."

"If you can’t behave when you visit us then don’t visit us ­— you’re spoiling it for the rest," the bosses added.

Bury currently remains subject to additional coronavirus restrictions ­— intended to reduce the borough's infection rate which has risen for the last six weeks in a row.

Covid-19 guidance for Bury states you should not socialise with people you do not live with in other indoor public venues – such as pubs, restaurants, cafes, shops, places of worship, community centres, leisure and entertainment venues, or visitor attractions.

Residents should also wash their hands frequently and stay two metres apart wherever possible.