Coronavirus in Scotland: Restaurant refusing to serve customers if they're not local

If customers cannot provide proof that they are from the Falkirk Council area, Cafe Corvina, on Grahams Road, Falkirk will refuse to serve them.

The Falkirk restaurant is asking those who have booked but cannot fulfil the new requirement to call them and let them know that they can no longer come.

The news comes as Falkirk moved down from level three to level two of Coronavirus restrictions.

According to the Scottish Government, if you are in tier two you should minimise unnecessary journeys between areas in different levels but it is not a legal requirement.

In a Facebook post, Cafe Corvina stated: “We have been advised from Police Scotland and Falkirk Council, that we are only allowed to take customers from the Falkirk area.

"We will now be asking for proof of residence when entering. We ask customers from surrounding areas outwith Falkirk to not travel to our premises as we can't serve you.

"Please give us a call if you have booked and can no longer come.”

Police Scotland commented they are not aware of issuing specific proof of residence advice to the restaurant.

However, a Police Scotland spokesperson said: "Our officers will continue to engage with the public, explain the legislation and guidance, and encourage compliance. We will use enforcement as a last resort where there is a clear breach of the legislation."

Falkirk Council has been contacted for comment.

A message from the Editor:Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.