Crown and Anchor break their silence following Covid-19 outbreak in Stone

First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest regret for all the anguish, disruption and sadness that the events that occurred in the Crown and Anchor last month have caused to so many.

I have lived in Stone since 2001 where we have raised our three children and it has always been nothing but the greatest pleasure to be part of this fantastic community.

However, on July 18, I accept that I was simply not strong enough in enforcing the Government’s COVID-19 secure rules, despite detailed preparation according to their guidelines. I regret I was complacent in enforcing these rules with the customers.

I now appreciate and understand the importance of maintaining supervised control of all the implementations, particularly social distancing and Test and Trace.

This virus gives you a false sense of normality while all around you seems ok. My error of judgement is down to me not being able to react quickly enough to the rapidly evolving situation, and for that I would like to apologise.

I cannot emphasise how much I regret what unfolded on that Saturday. I made the decision to close in order to seek guidance. The one thing that is within my power is to take positive steps to ensure the Crown & Anchor goes above and beyond to reassure people that Stone remains a safe place to visit.

We are finalising a reviewed Risk Assessment together with Environmental Health Officers from the Local Authority to ensure we do everything possible to minimise the risk of contamination moving forwards. I will inform everyone of a reopening date in due course.

I have never intentionally set out to create any damage or disruption to the community of Stone, but the reality is that I have done so, and I’m prepared to do whatever it takes to rectify that.

Thank you for your understanding.

Custodio Pinto
Crown & Anchor