If you’ve got an address in Wales, no drink

PUB landlords close to the Wales-England border have revealed anyone with a Welsh address will not be able to visit.

Some landlords in England had expected an influx of drinkers crossing the border yesterday – prompting one to explain that anyone with a Welsh address will not be permitted entry to venues.

Premises are having to take full addresses from customers to enable contact tracing in the case of coronavirus cases and Lance Pritchard, manager of independently-run pub the Shropshire Arms in Chester, said: “People from Wales, we are very dubious about. We have to take full addresses. If you have an address in Wales, it’s a no.

“The majority of bookings are all Chester-based, mainly really itching to get back into the pub.”

Mr Pritchard, along with other landlords and pub managers, said he anticipated drinkers from Wales will cross the border to pubs in England, even though Wales’ First Minister Mark Drakeford said people must follow the advice not to travel more than five miles from home.

The pub boss, who himself lives over the border in Wales, added: “It’s a testing time for pubs at the moment. I couldn’t sleep last night – I was awake at quarter to four.

“It’s a surreal feeling. We’re reopening but it’s not the same – like a new version of the pub.

“It’s been a worrying time for all business owners, especially in the hospitality industry. It’s been a lot of work and pressure on staff.”

The first pints were pulled in the Shropshire Arms, in the centre of the city, at 11am as a handful of regulars trickled in.

“Heaven,” said Bert Lockley, a regular, sipping his first pint of draught Guinness for three months. “I’ve missed this more than my missus when she left. You can drink at home but you can’t get this feeling anywhere else. I was looking forward to getting my hair cut and coming here. But I couldn’t get my hair cut, they were queuing down the street and I came straight here.”

The Shropshire Arms, a “drinker’s pub”, does not do food and instead is a sports and live entertainment venue, has space for 72 socially-distanced drinkers – and was fully booked yesterday from 11am to 11pm.

The new rules meant no standing at the bar, table service, and a booking system to get a table and a drink.