Hampshire pub bosses express fears of closures as lockdown restrictions ban sales of takeaway alcohol

Official guidelines state that although restaurants, bars and pubs must close from Thursday, food takeaway and delivery services are still permitted – but serving alcohol to take away is not.

Now, pub bosses have said that "less pubs will be opening" following the new rules, which will see thousands of pounds worth of stock thrown away.

Dan Morgan owns The Good Companions in Eastleigh with his partner Claire Nixon.

Together, they have created a family-friendly environment open to all ages.

But in the wake of the new national lockdown, Dan has told the Daily Echo of his concerns for his pub and other establishments in the area.

He explained how during the first lockdown, breweries that supplied the pubs were able to replace any stock that was lost due to the closures.

However, now on a second time around, breweries will not be able to afford to replace the stock forcing pubs, bars and restaurants to throw away whatever they cannot sell in the next two days.

Dan, who is currently self-isolating, said: "This time around, we will have to throw [the stock] away.

"I know there's lots of cases in Hampshire and so something needs to be done but if [the Government] don't do something there will be less pubs opening.

"It will have a massive affect on the industry. Pubs and bars have one three days to shift their stock, and whatever they don't sell with need to be thrown away."

Another popular pub has expressed their concern urging the Government to "look at this again"

Lewis Rosario, General Manager of The Four Horseshoes in Nursling said: "It doesn’t seem fair that restaurants can’t sell alcohol to go along with a takeaway service.

"We are licensed to be able to do this and hope the Government looks at this again.

"We have planned to do special promotions on food and wine takeaways for customers and now we’ll have an over stocking issue."

As previously reported, The British Beer & Pub Association, which represents many watering holes in the Southampton area, said many pubs and breweries would be lost unless they received the necessary support from the government.

Chief executive Emma McClarkin said: "This could be the final straw."