Council employed actors to play drunks in bars

Conwy Council has come under fire after it was revealed it employed actors to play drunks in bars for an undercover operation. Organised by Conwy and Denbighshire Community Safety Partnership, the North Wales council spent over £4000 on the initiative which aimed to check that pubs were serving alcohol responsibility.

Three ‘professional witnesses’ were hired to work over three weekends, pretending they were drunk in front of bar staff. According to papers documenting the operation, the actors staggered around ‘dressed in dishevelled and stained clothing’, slurring their speech and falling over.



They also told bar staff they were drunk as they ordered more drinks. According to the official report, while some premises refused to serve the ‘drunk’ customers, many did not.

But while ordinarily bar staff would face fines for serving customers they believe to be under the influence, as the actors were only pretending to be drunk no offence was actually committed. Staff found serving the ‘drunks’ were provided with free training instead.