A family who visited the circus say they had to leave because of the amount of families who also turned up.

Paul Yearnshire, 46, said he cut his daughters ninth birthday celebrations short due to fears of the spread of Covid-19.

The dad, from Gateshead, had taken his family to the opening night of the Big Kid Circus as a surprise treat.

But the builder said he felt uncomfortable with being packed inside a tent with 300 people during the international pandemic.

He claims the number of spectators in the venue meant social distancing was not being adhered to while face masks were optional.

The concerned dad took his family home halfway through the performance.

The annoyed dad said there was little social distancing

Paul told Chronicle Live : "We got in the queue and there were no markers down for social distancing. There was no hand sanitiser available and they said masks were optional for everyone.

"We got there early but you're allowed to sit where you like. As it filled up I looked at my wife and just said that this is wrong. It shouldn't be happening like this.

"By the time the performance started there were hardly any spare seats."

Earlier this week medical chiefs begged Gateshead households to remain vigilant to avoid a local lockdown.

It comes after a spike of 14 cases of the killer virus in the the area in the last week.

The family left the opening night performance halfway through

Mr Yearnshire added: “Our daughter was so excited to be there. We told her it was the end and just left. We've got friends and family who have cancelled weddings, birthdays and holidays and I don't agree with how the circus is being run in the current climate.

“People were not social distancing. People were all over, especially in the foyer buying refreshments.

"Everyone was too close and there were no precautions taken.

"We were very shocked to see this going ahead like this. It is certainly not going to help with containing the spread of Covid-19."

The circus said it was following guidelines

Inside performances were allowed to resume on August 15 as Boris Johnson moved the country further along his so-called roadmap to recovery.

The Big Kid Circus said it had reduced its capacity from 1,000 to 300 and was ensuring social distancing was being observed.

And as it is an outside venue, it claimed face masks were not mandatory.

Julia Kirilova, managing director of Big Kid Circus, said: "We have a significantly reduced capacity to ensure people can adhere to social distancing. There are two metres between the rows of seats and we encourage customers to leave a seat spare between groups.

“We are classed as an outdoor event so we can't force people to wear a mask. Some people may feel uncomfortable because they have not seen 300 people in a space for such a long time.

“"This is our livelihood. We don't get funding or grants and our staff didn't get furlough. This is the only way we can reopen in a safe and reasonable way for our customers."