Popular Chesterfield pubs have made the decision to close early today – as posts about potential protests are circulating online.

The Royal Oak at Chatsworth Road, previously known as the Spotted Frog, and Chesterfield Arms have announced that the pub will be closed tonight to ensure the safety of staff.

A statement published online by The Royal Oak reads: “After taking advice we have decided to close the pub at 5 today. We will be back open at 11.30 tomorrow. The safety of staff is paramount.”

Chesterfield Arms added: “We have taken the decision to close this evening. It is disgusting that in this day in age we have to do this because of the rumours of violence and disorder, in order to to keep our staff and customers safe and the business protected that we work incredibly hard to keep going. Hate breeds hate which in turn creates fear.”

Chesterfield Arms said: “We have taken the decision to close this evening. It is disgusting that in this day in age we have to do this because of the rumours of violence and disorder, in order to to keep our staff and customers safe and the business protected that we work incredibly hard to keep going. Hate breeds hate which in turn creates fear.”

placeholder image — Chesterfield Arms said: “We have taken the decision to close this evening. It is disgusting that in this day in age we have to do this because of the rumours of violence and disorder, in order to to keep our staff and customers safe and the business protected that we work incredibly hard to keep going. Hate breeds hate which in turn creates fear.”

This comes just after Derbyshire police issued an update to encourage people to ‘go about their business as normal’.

In a statement published just before 4pm, the force said they are ‘aware of information circulating online around planned protests’ and warned the public of a ‘great deal of misinformation around the planned protests’ on social media.

Assistant Chief Constable Michelle Shooter said: “We’re incredibly grateful to our communities and partners who have been working with us over recent days while disorder has been taking place across the country.

“We’d like to encourage people to go about their business as normal. While we understand that people will have concerns, we have a full operational and resourcing plan in place to ensure that we keep the people of Derbyshire safe.

The Royal Oak at Chatsworth Road, previously known as the Spotted Frog, has announced that the pub will be closed tonight to ensure the safety of the staff.

“I’d also like to ask people to please exercise caution with information they see and share online. There are a variety of reasons why this information may be shared so we’d encourage people to look to official and trusted sources for information such as the police and official bodies.

“Our main priority will always be to keep the public of Derbyshire safe and we are prepared to do just that.

“If there is any form of disorder in the county it will be dealt with both swiftly and robustly. Violence and disorder will not be tolerated in Derbyshire.”