Super Saturday revellers 'clearly unable to stick to social distancing rules' as hundreds of thousands hit the pub amid packed scenes in Soho

Drunk people are unable keep the proper social distance, a senior police officer has declared, after hundreds of thousands flocked to reopened pubs across England.

There were scenes of celebration yesterday as the country ended three months of coronavirus lockdown, on what had been dubbed "Super Saturday".

But concerns grew as large crowds of revellers were seen clearly not sticking to the one-metre plus social distancing rule.

In central London, streets in Soho was thronged with people well into the early hours of Sunday, as drinkers let their (newly trimmed) hair down.

One social media user described the scenes as a "petri dish" for coronavirus.

Elsewhere in the country, there were reports of trouble in Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire that saw some pubs close early.

John Apter, the chairman of the Police Federation which represents rank and file officers, was on duty and said it was “crystal clear” drinkers had not kept to the rule set down by the Government.

Mr Apter was on shift in Southampton and said he dealt with “naked men, happy drunks, angry drunks, fights and more angry drunks”, adding: “What was crystal clear is that drunk people can’t/won’t socially distance.

“It was a busy night but the shift managed to cope. I know other areas have had issues with officers being assaulted.”

Saturday saw major easing of lockdown measures in England saw pubs, restaurants, hairdressers and cinemas opening their doors again under modified social distancing regulations.

Experts had forecast pubgoers would sink 15 million pints, as a survey claimed more than half of voters think the hospitality sector has been reopened too soon.

England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty had warned the pandemic “is a long way from gone” and urged the public to follow social-distancing rules as pubs and restaurants reopened.

Speaking on Friday, Prof Whitty said: “None of us believe, and I’m sure nobody watching this believes, this is a risk-free next step. It is absolutely not, that is why we have to be really serious about it.

“There’s no doubt these are environments whose principal job it is to bring people together, that’s a great thing to do socially but it’s also a great thing from the virus’s point of view.

“Therefore, we do have to have a really clear and really disciplined approach to try and maintain social distancing whilst also enjoying pubs.”

Police said that four people were arrested and at least five pubs decided to close after alcohol related anti-social behaviour in north Nottinghamshire, while more than 200 people have been moved on by police after an “illegal rave” on Teesside.

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