A BARBER who was caught cutting hair in a room above a takeaway and a pub that was found to be serving drinks to customers have been hit with £1,000 Covid fines.

All three businesses were in Caerphilly county borough, and have been issued with fixed penalty notices after breaching Covid rules.

A pub in the Lower Rhymney Valley which was open to provide takeaway food and alcohol only was found to have customers inside the building consuming their alcoholic drinks.

A 35-year-old man in the Aber Valley area was found to be operating as a barber from a room above a takeaway shop.

A hand car wash business was also found to be operating normally and allowing customers to turn up without pre-booking.

READ MORE:

Welsh Government restrictions state that at alert level 4 all shops and other types of businesses required to close, such as a hand car wash, can offer “click and collect” or similar services, all goods and services should be ordered in advance online, by telephone or mail order.

Premises such as pubs and restaurants are allowed to open for takeaway services only. Food and drink may not be consumed at the premises, physical distancing measures must be applied and customers and staff are required to wear a face covering.

Guidance also says that close-contact services such as barbers and hairdressers are prohibited to operate under Alert Level 4 Lockdown.

Cllr Nigel George, Cabinet Member with responsibility for public protection, said: “We continue to support businesses who are currently able to remain operational to both understand and comply with the law, these rules are in place to protect both employees and the public.

"In this instance, the businesses in question were in clear breach of the law and we will continue to take action against those found to be non-compliant.”