Restaurant and bar owners worldwide are rapidly innovating to accommodate social distancing requirements in their establishments. One pub landlord has a crafty solution, and it’s positively … electric.

Johnny McFadden, landlord of The Star Inn in Cornwall, England, installed an electric fence in his pub to maintain a safe distance between pub goers and his staff. McFadden devised the solution after previous efforts to stop crowding around the bar using floor tape proved unsuccessful, he told Cornwall Live.

Though the newly installed fence is fully wired and operable, McFadden says he doesn’t usually turn it on. When asked if people are still deterred after enjoying a few drinks, he answered, “You’d be surprised. People keep well away from it. It’s the fear factor.”

Some have voiced concerns about the potential liability of an electric fence in a pub, including McFadden’s insurance broker. But McFadden has been undeterred by that concern, explaining: “We’re in a rural community, everybody knows what an electric fence is.”

While this measure might have a — literally — shocking effect on customers, the electric fence seems to be doing to trick. It “keeps the sheep away; it keeps the people away,” McFadden says, and it has allowed him to keep his pub open, with social distancing maintained.