Cricket club secretary calls for harassment of coronavirus customer to stop after they apologise and offer to pay for cleaning

Ryhope Cricket Club was forced to close on Saturday, after a man who had been in the bar the previous evening tested positive for the disease.

The Cavalier and Golden Fleece pubs in Silksworth also had to shut temporarily. Both have now been cleared to reopen.

The cricket club reopened on the evening of Monday, August 3, after undergoing a deep clean and after staff who were working on Friday tested negative for the virus.

Secretary Tony Storey said he had been informed of the customer’s test result on Saturday morning and had got in touch with Sunderland City Council, whose head of public health Gillian Gibson then rang him.

"I had to put my phone on charge three times on Saturday,” he said. "It was red hot.

"I contacted Coun Paul Hunt and then Gillian Gibson phoned me and asked if she could pass my number on to Public Health England. They phoned me last night.

"The lad in question contacted Track and Trace but they have said they are only contacting people who were in close proximity to him,”

The customer had rung the club himself and asked if there was anything he could do to make up for what had happened.

"The lad phoned me yesterday and he was really, really apologetic,” said Tony.

"He asked if there was anything he could do to help the club and I said ‘Do you want to pay the bill for the cleaning?’ and he said ‘Yes’.”

Tony believes some comments online have gone too far and it is time to draw a line under things.

"I just hope they leave him be,” he said.

"He knows he has made a massive mistake. People were really, really peeved but it is just one of those things.

"I was touched when he rang me yesterday. I thought ‘Well, at least you have stood up and taken it on the chin’.

"Some of the stuff online has been too much.”

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