Councillors in Halton fear contact tracing is not being taken seriously as some people leave false names and pubs struggle to enforce social distancing.

At a committee meeting on Tuesday evening, councillors expressed concern about “inconsistency” in the way pubs and restaurants had operated since they reopened in July.

Cllr Ged Philbin told the corporate policy and performance board: “In some, you go in and staff take your details and are wearing masks.

“In other places, it’s like it’s back to normal.”

Other councillors agreed that there was a wide difference in how closely pubs and restaurants were observing social distancing guidelines.

Cllr Kevan Wainwright singled out the Cook House in Widnes, which opened in July in the building formerly occupied by the Albion Hotel.

He said: “The particular occasion that I went to the Cook House and it was packed out, I wasn’t quite sure whether to stay or whether to go.

“I was hungry, so I stayed, but I have to say I wasn’t impressed with how they were dealing with the issues.”

Cllr Chris Loftus added that some members of the public were also giving false names, saying: “I’ve seen a register within a pub and fictitious names, one was one of the Beatles.

“I don’t think it’s being taken as seriously as it needs to be.”

One of the borough’s public health officials, Sarah Johnson Griffiths, acknowledged that there were differences but said the borough’s environmental health team lacked the capacity to carry out spot checks on pubs and restaurants.

She told councillors: “We are very much relying on individuals letting us know if there’s a problem.”

Ms Johnson Griffiths added that the majority of premises in the borough were observing the rules, but some were “just achieving” the standards required while others had gone “above and beyond”.

Like other parts of the Liverpool City Region, Halton has seen a rapid rise in the number of coronavirus cases over the past week.

In the seven days up to September 5, Halton recorded 37 new cases of Covid-19 – a six-fold increase on the previous week’s total.

The borough now has an infection rate of 28.5 cases per 100,000 residents, double the national average.

Ms Johnson Griffiths told Tuesday’s meeting that the increase was mainly among people aged between 18 and 29, adding that while the cases total was “not massive numbers” it was still “quite an increase” in a borough that had previously seen low levels of the virus.

She said: “We’ve had a number of cases that is generally lower than the North West average and about the rate of the English average, so we are doing OK.”