Sheffield massage parlour which runs swingers nights among firms allegedly caught flouting Covid rules

Sheffield City Council issued 29 fixed penalty notices (FPNs) and 26 prohibition notices between January and July 2021 to firms believed to be breaking the restrictions during the most recent lockdown.

A total of £60,000 worth of FPNs – fines which if not paid can lead to prosecution – were handed out, but just £12,000 has so far been paid, a Freedom of Information request by The Star shows.

Car washes, pubs, cafes and hairdressers were among the businesses to be hit with FPNs, three of which were subsequently retracted, or prohibition notices.

Speedy Hand Car Wash, on Sheffield Road, Tinsley, was served with a total of eight FPNs totalling £34,000 – including two £10,000 fines, which was the maximum permitted for repeat offenders – for operating when it should have been closed during February.

According to the council, it has yet to pay a penny.

The other businesses to be handed FPNs of £2,000 or more were Jabal Barbers in Wadsley Bridge, which was reportedly caught operating on February 26; The Big Gun pub on the Wicker, where staff were allegedly seen serving customers at the bar on June 26; and Wicked Lounge Shisha Cafe, also on the Wicker, where on January 8, 14 people were reportedly found inside smoking shisha pipes.

Of those, the first two were told to pay £2,000 and the last was ordered to cough up £4,000.

The two FPNs issued to Jabal Barbers were later retracted, the Big Gun has paid the £2,000, and Wicked Lounge Shisha Cafe has yet to pay, according to the council.

Prohibition notices, which can be served before an FPN is issued, were given to 20 different firms, including Speedy Hand Car Wash, which received two such notices.

Among the other businesses to be given prohibition notices was Paradise Studio at Britannia Steelworks on Furnival Road, just outside the city centre, which is advertised as a massage parlour and describes on its website how it offers private party rooms, swingers nights and private studio rentals.

It was served with two prohibition notices, one for reportedly allowing drinks to be consumed on the premises on April 21 and the other requiring it to close because it was operating as a sexual entertainment venue.

Some Covid restrictions remained in place in England until July 19, which was dubbed Freedom Day, when nightclubs were allowed to reopen and the limits on capacity for big events like festivals was lifted, among other changes.

These are all the Sheffield businesses which were given FPNs earlier this year for reportedly flouting Covid rules, with details including the total amount demanded, whether that sum has been paid and a brief description of the alleged contravention/s:

ARC Car Wash, Upwell Street – £1,000 – not paid – seen operating on March 21BP Bramall Lane Filling Station – £1,000 – not paid, and FPN later retracted – people seen on March 17 using jet hoses to wash carsChill Out Cafe, Sorby Street – £1,000 – paid – shisha pipes found lit and customers seen fleeing the premises on February 12Diamond Hand Car Wash, Burngreave Road – £1,000 – paid – seen operating on February 19Fire Pit Rocks, West Street – £1,000 – paid – police found around 10 people seated around a table containing alcoholic drinks at around 10.30pmGold Carwash, Blackburn Road – £1,000 – paid – incomplete description of offenceGrennel Mower, Lowedges Road – £1,000 – paid – man seen drinking at bar on May 22Hillsborough Carwash, Langsett Road – £1,000 – not paid – seen operating on March 21Jabal Barbers, Halifax Road – £3,000 total – not paid, and both FPNs later retracted – seen operating on February 17 and 26Nonna’s Ristorante, Ecclesall Road – £1,000 – paid – 30 people seen consuming food and drink on the terrace, with music playingOld Crown, Penistone Road – £1,000 – not paid – approximately 40 people seen in the rear garden ‘vertical drinking, singing and shouting’Palmyra, Wicker – £2,000 total – not paid – shisha pipes in use on January 15Royal Oak, Blackburn Road – £1,000 – paid – ‘sold, without reasonable excuse, food or drink for consumption on the premises that was served to a customer not seated on the premises’Speedy Hand Car Wash, Sheffield Road – £34,000 total – not paid – seen operating on various dates between February 12 and 25Sport Shack, Ecclesall Road – £1,000 – paid – people seen ordering at the barThe Big Gun, Wicker – £2,000 – paid – several members of the public seen being served at the bar on June 26The Three Feathers, Bowden Wood Crescent – £1,000 – paid – police attended at 11.37pm and saw ‘several persons start bursting from the rear of the premises’Wicked Lounge Shisha Cafe, Wicker – £4,000 – not paid – 14 people found inside smoking shisha pipes on January 8Wraggy's Fish & Chips, Meadow Head – £1,000 – paid – customers seen using tables adjacent to the premisesZe Zee's Car Cleaning Service, Cutts Terrace – £1,000 – not paid – seen operating on March 2

These are all the Sheffield businesses which were given prosecution notices earlier this year for reportedly flouting Covid restrictions:

Greenline Barber, Hatfield House LaneSpeedy Hand Car Wash, Sheffield RoadMax Spielman, Savile StreetChill Out Cafe, Sorby StreetOasis Cafe, Carlisle StreetJabal Barbers, Halifax RoadStorm Hand Car Wash, Attercliffe CommonDiamond Hand Car Wash, Burngreave RoadHandsworth Fresh Hand Car Wash, Handsworth RoadGym WorX, Middlewood RoadParson Cross Hand Car Wash, Deerlands AvenueHillsborough Carwash, Langsett RoadARC Car Wash, Upwell StreetZe Zee's Car Cleaning Service, Cutts TerraceYorkshire MKA, Bellhouse RoadBP Bramall Lane Filling StationGold Car Wash, Blackburn RoadGold Cut Barbers, Blackburn RoadRawal Lounge, John StreetParadise Studio, Furnival Road