Organizers of a drive-in cinema event at Chester FC’s Deva Stadium, which straddles the border between England and Wales, have had to scramble after it became clear customers would have to violate Covid rules to use the toilets.
Storyhouse - a cultural centre based in Chester - are hosting a Halloween movie drive-in at the stadium between October 27 and November 1, but they thought they would have to cancel the event after it was confirmed Wales would enter a 17-day national lockdown on Friday.
Storyhouse CEO Andrew Bentley said that would “probably” be the case because of the unique issue with the location: “It turns out the border goes through the middle of the car park but the screen is mostly in Wales.
“We are already having to refund our customers who live in Wales as cinema is part of their circuit-breaker.
“However, customers who live in England are also to be banned from straying into the wrong bit of the car park to watch the film, and Flintshire police say they will enforce at the event.”
He added: “The loos are still in Wales so our customers are going to be caught short, or just caught at the border.”
Twitter users could see the funny side of things, with one quipping: “Someone’s taking the p*ss.”
“Does going to the toilet not count as ‘essential business?’” another asked, while a third suggested an alternative for any customer caught short at the event: “Bring your own bucket!”
However, on Friday the company announced they would still be able to hold the event for English patrons at reduced capacity after hiring portable toilets for them to use so they can “have a wee without breaking the law:”
Although Chester are an English club, much of the stadium lies in Wales including the entirety of the pitch.