Northfleet Pub Fires Staff After Neo-Nazi Codes Found on Bingo Board

_{The six bells pub. (Image: David Anstiss/Wikicommons)}

Dan Pike, landlord of The Six Bells pub in Northfleet, says his business has been left reeling after a staff member secretly added neo-Nazi references to a promotional chalkboard for a weekend bingo event.

Pike, who has managed the community pub for a decade, said he first learned of the incident around 1 a.m. on November 4 when he received an email warning that the pub’s signboard was being shared online. The advertisement for a “Bingo and Boogie” night featured three numbered balls marked 88, 18, and 14, digits associated with white supremacist and neo-Nazi symbolism.

The numbers 88 and 18 are widely recognised as shorthand for “Heil Hitler” and “Adolf Hitler,” while 14 refers to the white supremacist slogan known as the “Fourteen Words,” coined by U.S. extremist David Lane.
(Sources: Southern Poverty Law Center, ADL)

Pike said he was unaware of the connotations, noting that 88 is also the traditional bingo call for “Two Fat Ladies.”

“My first concern was that we might be targeted in some way, as it was such an extreme thing,” he told KentOnline. “I was worried about my staff’s safety.”

Landlord Confronted the Employee

After learning of the incident, Pike said he immediately erased the sign and confronted the employee responsible. The staff member, he said, admitted to writing the numbers and has since been dismissed. The landlord reported the matter to police and published a public statement online to reassure regulars that the venue does not share extremist views.

“Many of you know me well and know this pub well, and I would not even need to tell you that these are absolutely not viewpoints that I hold,” Pike wrote in a Facebook post. 

“Having this tarnish on myself and my business is sickening and was just as bad for my staff.”

He added that the situation has been emotionally draining for his small team, describing them as “a plucky rabble of mothers, teachers and musical theatre performers.”

“These types of insidious and threatening messages and viewpoints are not welcome anywhere, let alone in my pub,” he wrote. “Unless dealt with quickly, they can grow and grow.”

Pub Suffered From Negative Reviews

Since the sign surfaced online, The Six Bells has received a wave of negative reviews, which Pike says could cause lasting harm to the business. Despite the backlash, he expressed gratitude for the support shown by friends and customers.

“There are people who simply just do not know us, who we are, what we represent and probably do not really care,” he said. 

“Your support despite that risk is so humbling it literally brings me to tears.”

Pike also issued a direct apology, acknowledging responsibility for the incident.
“I am certainly no Nazi,” he said. “But make no mistake, I am fully aware that this happened on my watch, and there is a culpability to that. Lessons have been learned. I will do better.”

Kent Police confirmed they are aware of the incident and are reviewing the circumstances.