Owners of an English pub have installed a live electric fence in front of the bar area to prevent customers from coming too close in violation of social distancing rules. The Star Inn in Cornwall was tired of visitors violating police requests to maintain distance from staff and other customers and felt the only way to move forward was with an electric fence.
A pub landlord, who got fed up with his punters not social distancing, has installed an electric fence at the bar. Johnny McFadden who runs The Star Inn in St Just and is also a local farmer said: "It keeps the sheep away, and it keeps the people away.” https://t.co/lU8vuBsy9t pic.twitter.com/BUlRWn6Kz1
— Greg Martin (@photogregmartin) July 13, 2020
- It’s all about keeping people safe. The Star Inn’s landlord Johnny McFadden told Cornwall Live that while it might seem extreme to install an electric fence in a bar, at the end of the day, it was all about safety. “It’s there for social-distancing. Before the fence, people were not following social-distancing and were doing as they pleased, but now people take heed to the guidance around social distancing.”
- Some customers claim they were zapped by the electric fence. A few people have claimed they fell victim to the volts coming from the fence, but McFadden insists that most of the time, the power isn’t even turned on. However, he did warn that he might change his mind about that should people decide not to respect the distancing rules moving forward.
- Distancing is kind of hard for drunk people. The problem is that while many people might find it easy to stay six feet away from others, that logic goes out the window once alcohol enters the picture and it’s just not something people will think about. This is one of the most challenging parts of reopening safely that bars and pubs have had to face.
- Has an electric fence gone too far? Some would say yes, but it seems the gesture is more symbolic than anything else. Because people are incapable or simply unwilling to follow safety procedures so that the business can start making money again and life can approach something of a “new normal” without creating even more risk, McFadden was at his wits’ end. Here’s hoping he never has to switch it on!
