THE manager of a pub says she is appalled after malicious reports were made to police to say they were breaking coronavirus regulations.

Due to current restrictions, pubs and restaurants have to shut at 10pm and bosses at the Dog and Partridge in Baxenden have been keeping to restrictions.

But, earlier this week, Melanie Henning got a telephone call from police saying they received an anonymous report that they had been staying open during the weekend.

The bosses at the pub responded to post CCTV footage of the inside of the pub over the weekend at night which showed no-one inside.

Melanie, who has been running the pub for two years, said: "It is really upsetting. It's not the police's fault as they have got a job to do and they have been nothing but supportive.

"They rang on the Monday saying we were serving at half past midnight but I showed them the footage and they could see we had done nothing wrong.

"We have been getting everyone out by 10pm and it is hard to see how anyone could do this.

"It makes me even more angry that the complaint was anonymous and nothing can be done about it when it is just rubbish."

Mel added that times are already tough in the current crisis.

She said: "In the past two years we have been going from strength to strength.

"It has been a vibrant family pub but that has changed like the atmosphere.

"We are serving 50 per cent of the customers due to social distancing but I need more staff because of table service.

"Sometimes I just wish they would shut the pubs as it is making it hard.

"The police officer told me that we were not the first pub to be a victim of this and we won't be the last.

"It is just a shame because the police then have you on the radar and are always looking. But we have done nothing wrong.

"Everybody on Facebook have been supportive by saying it is a waste of police time by getting them to investigate and then do more patrols."