Three takeaways have been fined for serving customers after the 10pm Covid-19 curfew.
The trio of East London diners have been ordered to pay £1,000 after cops in Ilford found them to have breached the new coronavirus rules.
Bim's Burgers on Ilford Lane was fined after staff at the takeaway served a customer just four minutes after the deadline.
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Speaking about the penalty notice, Bim's owner said it's not always clear 'how the new rules should be interpreted'.
A statement from the takeaway shared with the Daily Mail said: "We very much regret that our staff unknowingly breached the Government's 10pm curfew. A customer entered the restaurant a few minutes before 10pm, just as we were shutting up for the night. He was the only customer on the premises at that time.
"We began processing his food order before the curfew and his final receipt was printed at 10pm. Our staff were under the impression that if an order was placed by 10pm it could still be served. The food took less than four minutes to arrive and he left at 10.04 pm.
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"Our staff were then shocked to be informed that they had breached the new laws by a matter of four minutes. New rules regarding Covid-19 are being made thick and fast and sometimes it isn't clear exactly how they should be interpreted."
The takeaway company stated that the customer was in the shop before 10pm and that they didn't want to just kick them out.
The statement went on: "This was a very minor mistake, but it was made in good faith. Under the circumstances we think it would have been reasonable for us to receive a verbal warning as opposed to a £1,000 fine.
"Had we served a customer at 10.15pm or even later then without doubt this fine would have been fully justified. However, we will not be complaining about the police operation and our staff will obviously take greater care in future to abide by the law."
Two other restaurants - Fireaway Pizza on Ley Street and Spice on High Street - were also dealt with by police for breaching the new rules.
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According to police, two customers were inside Fireaway Pizza at 10.20pm and were spotted waiting for their meals while not wearing face coverings.
Redbridge Borough Police also said that Spice 'breached Covid-19' and the owner was handed a '£1,000 fine for subsequent breaches'.
LADbible has contacted the Metropolitan Police for further comment.
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