POLICE were called to a village pub to break up a party flouting lockdown — only to discover it was a virtual booze-up.
Cops who entered The Crown found licensee Russ Lemon, 48, and partner Steph having a pint with regulars on Zoom.
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The couple, who run the pub in Cumbria, had created a backdrop of fake skeletons.
Russ said: “We thought it would be a good idea to set up the Zoom chats, we do a weekly quiz too for the regulars.
“It’s good to have a catch up because we haven’t seen them in so long.
“It has the same atmosphere of being in the pub as they can see it behind us.
“We got a knock on the door just before 11pm and I thought it must be the police because of how late it was, then I opened the door and there was three police officers asking if they could come in and check the pub out.
“They walked in and we have a few skeletons sitting at the bar – it’s for the kids who walk past and look in the window, it’s a bit of fun, the police found it very amusing and started taking selfies with them.
One drinker on the call said: “It was hilarious, there were three officers.
“Once they realised they laughed and left. I think they felt a bit silly.”
Cumbria police said a member of the public had believed the pub was open after hearing karaoke on Friday evening.
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