A tanning salon boss who flouted Covid 19 lockdown regulations claiming she was offering medical treatment has been fined £1,000.
Brogan Hayes, 27, continued to pack in customers to sun beds in her beauty parlour ‘Hotter Than Hell’ despite police and council warnings.
Locals repeatedly complained the salon, in Bradford, West Yorkshire, was breaching emergency coronavirus regulations and sun-worshippers were flocking to her business.
Brazen Hayes boasted of how busy she was on the Hotter Than Hell Facebook page, posting on June 22: ‘Open until 8pm. If the shop phone is saying mailbox full it’s because we’ve taken it off the hook due to being at maximum capacity in the shop.
Brogan Hayes leaves Bradford Magistrates Court where she was fined for keeping her tanning salon Hotter Than Hell open during lockdown despite warnings from both police and council
Court heard Hayes was ‘aggressive and irate’ when council staff visited the salon to investigate
‘You’ll need to hang about 10 mins or so and try again.’
The post was punctuated with smiley faces and flames.
On July 3 Hayes wrote: ‘Evening Guys, just to let you all know we are closed tomorrow (Saturday 4th July).
‘The beds need a good rest and tbh so do we. I’m sure you will understand the level of custom there last few weeks has been phenomenal See you Monday.’
Ironically, July 4 was the day that the Government lifted the Covid-19 restrictions on tanning salons.
Bradford Magistrates’ Court heard that Hayes operated Hotter Than Hell ‘during the height of lockdown’.
The court was told how in early May, Bradford Council received complaints about customers flocking to the beauty parlour.
At the time, police advised Hayes to close the salon, but she told officers she had a ‘medical exemption’ for providing clinical facilities, and was providing ‘narrow beam UVB therapy’ to sufferers of skin conditions.
However, when police asked if the salon was registered with the British Medical Association and whether she was medically qualified, Hayes could not provide evidence.
She continued to operate the salon, and on May 15 the salon was visited by Environmental Health officials, who noted it was open and had customers.
Hayes was not present, but a member of staff phoned her, and Hayes was ‘aggressive and irate’ and told the council staff she would ‘continue to operate and if they didn’t leave the premises she would come down and remove them’.
Hotter Than Hell was open during lockdown and Hayes bragged on Facebook about how it was busy. The business has now been sold and the Facebook page has apparently been deleted
The business was issued a prohibition notice on May 19 saying it must shut down, and was revisited on June 15 and the business was found to still be open with customers on the premises.
On this occasion, Hayes was present at the salon and told her customers not to leave and she would continue to open.
A Council representative, prosecuting in court said: ‘Despite repeated warnings, Ms Hayes remained open, and the Council continued to receive complaints.’
Hayes, wearing a face mask attended court to plead guilty in writing, but left before her case was heard.
Hayes pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to close business during emergency period; two counts of obstructing a person carrying out a function under the coronavirus regulations and two counts of failing to comply with a prohibition notice.
The charges were all brought under the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020.
Sentencing magistrate Reverend George Williams said: ‘Despite several warnings, Brogan Hayes continued to open her business in contravention of the regulations.
‘The offences were committed at the height of the lockdown, and her actions were deliberate and wilful.
‘She did not comply with the coronavirus regulations.
‘She is no longer working but could have indeed made some profit during that period, but we have no evidence to show how much she may have made.’
Hayes was fined £250 for each offence of obstructing Council officials, and £250 for failing to close her business when it was not permitted to open.
No separate penalty was given for the offences of failing to comply with a prohibition notice.
She was also ordered to pay £250 in costs to the Council and a £75 surcharge, for a total of £1,075.
Hayes, 27, was ordered to pay £1,075 when she appeared at Bradford Magistrates Court
The court heard that it is unknown how much money Hayes made by illegally operating Hotter Than Hell during lockdown and she has since sold the business and is on universal credit.
After the case, Councillor Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Healthy People and Places said: ‘We will always take action where we find that a business is operating in contravention of COVID-19 regulations.
‘Our priority has to be to protect the public’s health at this time of rising infection.
‘The vast majority of businesses in the Bradford district are following the regulations to prevent the spread of Coronavirus (Covid-19) despite the economic hardship this is causing, and we are very grateful for their support during the pandemic.’