THE owner of a bar where a customer fell into a drunken slumber on the toilet and was locked in overnight says he has not seen him 'for days' because he is 'embarrassed'.
David, the customer, got so inebriated whilst at Norton Brewery in La Virgen del Camino in León province – about eight kilometres from León city - and that he dozed off in the gents', and found the premises shut and in darkness when he woke up.
He videoed his surroundings, with a slurry commentary, and posted it on social media – which turns out to have been a big mistake, as his predicament has since gone viral and he is now reportedly too ashamed to leave his house.
In the footage, he says he does not know what time it is, whether it is 'five o'clock, six, seven, or eight', and that he is not sure how he ended up in the toilets.
After having sobered up slightly – but not much – he called the Guardia Civil.
By now, he was far from panicked – instead, he decided to make the best of his unplanned lock-in and helped himself to a beer from the bar tap.
Police found him sitting, relaxed, at a table with his glass – and he even offered to serve them a beer, too.
David claimed he fell asleep at about midnight, but José Froilán, who owns Norton Brewery (Cervecería Norton), says he did not shut up shop until about 04.00 in the morning.
He got a call from the security company linked to his intruder alarm at around 09.00, and he tuned into the CCTV via his mobile phone.
At first, he thought he had been broken into, then he recognised David, a customer who had 'been there several times before'.
“It happens to us all now and again,” José Froilán admitted.
Alerted by the police, he went down to his bar to let David out.
“He was chilling out with a beer, but I asked the police to take him home, because he lives about 13 kilometres away,” says José Froilán.
“I didn't realise he was there. Customers do sometimes get so drunk they fall asleep, but I've always noticed in time before I locked up for the night. Even though there are some you couldn't wake up if you took a hammer to them!”
José Froilán, who has owned Norton Brewery since 2004, saw the funny side immediately.
But David, he says, now dare not leave home because everyone recognises him from his videos and inarticulate running commentary on social media – and which has been shared and broadcast by mainstream media, even TV.
“What does it matter, though?” shrugs José Froilán.
“It could be that he ends up getting a call the next day to appear on Big Brother or some other reality show!”
He assures the public that he has learnt a valuable lesson from the incident, and hopes David has, too – José Froilán will check the toilets, and every other hidden corner, for sleeping customers before he locks up, and hopefully, David will try not to take forty winks anywhere that is out of sight of the staff.
Photograph by Cervecería Norton on Twitter (@CervNortonLeon)
