Drinkers seen packed into pub at centre of major new coronavirus outbreak

Video shows dozens of revellers sardined shoulder to shoulder in boozer where 10 people have now tested positive for deadly illness

Drinkers at the Crown and Anchor in Stone (Screengrab / Ayrron Robinson)

A pub at the centre of a major new coronavirus outbreak had punters packed into its garden like sardines, new video shows.

Drinkers can be seen standing shoulder to shoulder at the Crown and Anchor, in the Staffordshire town of Stone, in the shocking footage.

The clip emerged as health chiefs revealed at least 10 people who had been there have since tested positive for Covid-19 – and urged others to come forward for testing.

Most were said to be young adults, either in their late teens or 20s.

One of those since diagnosed with the virus is understood to have then attended a crowded private party – sparking fears the infection may now be spreading undetected in the community.

Ayrron Robinson, who filmed the scenes at the pub from his second-floor flat, estimated some 200 customers were crammed into the garden.

The 31-year-old sound engineer said: “There were between 100 to 200 people there and no social distance outdoors. They certainly weren’t a metre apart, as there was another person sort of filling in the metre gap everywhere…it was everyone just in a big block of people.

Speaking to the Express and Star newspaper, he added: “I could see some of them going to other pubs, so it’s a bad situation.”

Health bosses at Staffordshire County Council say anyone who visited the bar – which has now closed – between 16 and 18 July should come forward for testing as soon as possible.

A mobile testing unit operated by the army has been set up in the town with hundreds queueing to be seen on Wednesday.

Dr Richard Harling, the council’s director for public health, said: “We are still in the period where cases who may have caught it at the pub might be infectious, so it’s important we identify and isolate them. We’re also concerned that any of those cases might have infected other people.”

“The majority of publicans are behaving very responsibly, making sure people are safe when they are in their establishments. But we cannot afford to slip up. We have to be vigilant all the time. It’s a timely reminder to publicans – if you can keep lists of your patrons it does aid these contact-tracing activities in the event we do get cases.”

In a bid to reduce possible spread, the August Stone Farmers’ Market, due to be held on Saturday, has now been cancelled, while a number of other pubs have announced they will be shutting or reducing their hours this weekend.

The Crown and Anchor itself was not answering calls on Thursday morning but a post on its Facebook page last week admitted there had been an “overwhelming amount of people” there on the Saturday in question.

It added: “We have decided to close this weekend to be able to review our risk assessment in order to deal with the difficulty that we faced with social distancing.”