A Bristol tattooist must pay more than £20,000 for opening his studio in breach of Covid rules.
The defendant, Mr Aaron Walton, ignored lockdown when he traded from Holey Skin, Gloucester Road, on November 13 last year.
Days earlier, Walton had told a police officer he would be “issuing £10,000 fines for any more visits” from authorities to the tattoo parlour. He complained that police had attended seven times during the second lockdown.
But following his sentencing, it is Walton who must pay a £10,000 fine for failing to comply with a notice prohibiting opening, and a further £2,500 for obstructing a Bristol City Council enforcement officer.
The Hartcliffe resident did not attend Bristol Magistrates’ Court on Monday (August 9) but Presiding Justice Lynne Paraskeva found him guilty of both offences in his absence.
Walton must also pay prosecution costs of £8,174.94 and a £190 victim services surcharge — bringing the total amount to £20,864.94.
The council said at the time that this came after “persistent breaches of Covid-19 rules despite repeated requests to comply”.
Walton warned council officers he would “bill them for the damage” caused to his door. As the environmental health officer handed him the fine, he said: “I do not consent, I do not accept it.”
When the council entered his premises, he protested: “You have no wet signature from a judge. You have no authority here. You have no jurisdiction here. I stand under common law. You are committing criminal offences against me right now.”
Editor-in-Chief | Carl D. Pearson has been involved in British politics and media from an early age, with the key knowledge of what it takes to run a news organisation for the 21st century. Mr Pearson, as Editor-in-chief, is responsible for supervising the daily tasks of publishing media and content to UNN’s website and various platforms.
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