Pub to turn away punters not wearing their poppies

A BRISTOL pub landlord has told customers that they will only be served in his pub if they are wearing a poppy this weekend.

Sean Donnelly, the landlord of the Three Lions pub in Bedminster, Bristol, has long been passionate about supporting Remembrance Day, and warned customers they would be turned away if they weren’t sporting a poppy when they came in.

The pub in West Street transformed itself into a giant flag of St George for the World Cup this summer, and is in

Bristol City supporters’ heartland.

Mr Donnelly said anyone coming into the pub would be offered the chance to take a poppy in return for a donation to the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal, and he had arranged for a range of different kinds of official poppies to be sold at the bar.

The poppies the pub is selling all have the 2018 date on – because some sneaky regulars had dusted off poppies from previous years in a bid to avoid making a fresh donation.

“We have a selection of different ones,” he said.

“It was us who pushed for putting the date on them, people were wearing badges with the previous year on,” he added.

The Three Lions has a bench in the pub garden decorated with a poppy, as well as patriotic decor at the front.

Mr Donnelly said the rule only applied for this weekend, tomorrow and Sunday, and included tomorrow evening when the pub is showing the Tony Bellew boxing match on its big screen.