A PUB has emphatically denied it is breaking the law by staying open despite Greater Manchester Police’s top officer raising claims it has been letting customers in through the back door.

Speaking on BBC Radio Manchester yesterday afternoon, Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said the force has been told The Shakespeare in Farnworth had been trading despite Government orders to stay shut to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Police were called to the Glynne Street pub at 8.40pm on Wednesday to reports that the pub was “continuing to trade”.

And in a lunchtime slot on radio, Mr Hopkins took the opportunity to “name and shame”, in his words, some premises that have been accused of “flouting the law”.

He said: “We are getting reports that (The Shakespeare) is letting members of the public in through the back door and it’s just blatantly flouting the licensing laws.

“We will be dealing with them. They will have their licence revoked.

“I have got numerous examples of licensed premises that are continuing to do that. We will treat this really seriously.”

A spokesperson for Hawthorn Leisure said: “There is absolutely no truth to suggestions that The Shakespeare in Farnworth has been serving drinks during the lockdown.

“Hawthorn Leisure has been strictly adhering to Government guidance, and the pub has not been open since it shut its doors on Friday night. Furthermore, our manager and her husband are both self-isolating due to pre-existing health concerns.

“The only people to have visited the pub since it closed are people from Tung Sing restaurant, dropping off surplus potatoes and vegetables, which our manager has been cutting up for an old people’s home as part of a community initiative, a painter who is working on the toilets, and a dog walker.”

The landlady of the pub also said there was no truth in the claims by the police chief.

A Bolton Council spokesperson said: “We will be looking into any complaints, and if a licensed establishment is found to be breaching the regulations, we will take appropriate action.”

During the question-and-answer programme, Mr Hopkins covered a range of issues surrounding the impact of Covid-19 on people’s lives.

He said that most people were complying with the new laws the Government has enforced but there are a small minority of resident who were not paying attention to them.

And the chief constable also revealed that 1,168 GMP officers and staff were off work at the moment – 14 per cent of the workforce.

This is due them showing symptoms of Covid-19, “shielding” the 1.5 million people in the UK who need extra protection from the virus, as well as general sickness.

Mr Hopkins expressed his “frustration” that officers were not receiving priority testing for the virus, which has left them having to self-isolate when they may not have it, or put citizens at risk by passing it on to them.