Defiant owner of beach bar receives death threats

Defiant owner of beach bar who vowed to continue serving takeaway pints despite Covid notice and £1,000 fine is forced to close after receiving death threats

• Kash Pungi vowed to keep Cleethorpes Beach Bar, North East Lincolnshire, open
• He believed his ‘click and collect’ service via text circumvented current rules 
• But the 48-year-old has since taken to Facebook to reveal the bar will now shut
• He received intimidating messages including threat to ‘bludgeon him with pipe’

The defiant owner of beach bar who vowed to continue serving takeaway pints despite being issued with a Covid notice and £1,000 fine has been forced to close after receiving death threats.

Kash Pungi had vowed to keep the Cleethorpes Beach Bar, by the seafront in North East Lincolnshire, open even after being handed a council order to cease trading.

He believed his ‘click and collect’ service via text message circumvented current rules which states that pubs and restaurants across England must remain closed until April 12.

But the 48-year-old has since taken to Facebook to reveal that the bar will now shut after he received intimidating messages including a threat to ‘bludgeon him with a lead pipe’.

Kash Pungi (pictured) had vowed to keep the Cleethorpes Beach Bar, by the seafront in North East Lincolnshire, open even after being handed a council order to cease trading

Council officials served Mr Pungi with a prohibition notice on Tuesday ordering him to close his bar on the North Promenade where his mother and son had also served customers.

The notice was made under the updated health protection regulations which came into force on Monday.

But he defiantly opened the next day saying he would ‘see them in court’ and he was then handed a £1,000 fixed penalty notice.

Mr Pungi claimed customers were all abiding by the two-metre rule although many chose not to wear masks.

He said: ‘Everyone is behaving. I have never seen people so relaxed in Cleethorpes before they are all happy.

‘Everyone is chilled and walking slowly and keeping apart. There is no rushing around. Everyone is abiding by the rules.’ 

But the 48-year-old has since taken to Facebook to reveal that the bar will now shut after he received intimidating messages including a threat to ‘bludgeon him with a lead pipe’

But writing on Facebook, Mr Pungi, has now revealed he will be closing after receiving death threats.

The businessman said: ‘I’ve had advice from barristers saying what I did was legal and we had safety measures in place with regards to COVID but with threats of violence including death treats I can’t risk putting my mum and son in harms way.

‘Standing up to council bully’s [sic] is one thing but with a heavy heart I’ve decided to close. We will be open again on the 12th April hope that will satisfies [sic] those that don’t agree.

‘Complaints logged and compensation requested from council!!!’

He also shared some of the alarming messages he had received which included a threat to ‘bludgeon him with a lead pipe’.

Mr Pungi believed his ‘click and collect’ service via text message at the bar (pictured) circumvented current rules which states that pubs and restaurants across England must remain closed until April 12

Under current Covid-19 rules, pubs and restaurants across England must remain closed for all but takeaways.

This is expected to change on April 12 when venues will be permitted to serve customers outdoors.

Licensing consultant Michael Kheng, who has been advising Mr Pungi, believes the bar was exempt from from current restrictions because it was selling alcohol for consumption off the premises.

He claims it was operating in the same way as an off license or licensed shop and does not fall under the same rules as a pub.

‘The Beach Bar is not a pub or a cafe. In some respects it is just like Tesco, but just significantly smaller,’ he said.

‘By pre-ordering, he is meeting the requirements of the law. The new regulations came into effect at the start of the week.

‘You can open for pre-ordered drinks and the rules specifically state by text.

‘People are not going into premises for alcohol, so that is permitted. The difference with the Beach Bar is that it is not a pub.

A North East Lincolnshire Council spokesman said: ‘Following reports of the contravention of health protection regulations at the Beach Bar in Cleethorpes over recent days, we can confirm that Council officers have now served the owner of the premises with a £1,000 Fixed Penalty Notice.

‘This notice follows the prohibition notice which was served on the premises yesterday (Tuesday) after multiple breaches of The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Steps) (England) Regulations 2021 (SI. 2021 No. 364).’

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