A SUTTON Scotney landlord has said 'we will find a way to survive' as Government support does not go far enough for "wet pubs".

Under Tier 2 - which Winchester has been placed into - pubs and restaurants can only serve alcohol alongside a "substantial meal".

For the award-winning pub the Wonston Arms this has meant they are unable to open.

The pub, which was National Pub of the Year in the CAMRA awards in 2018, has not served food since current landlord and owner Matt Todd stepped in to save it in 2015.

Today Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the one-off payment of £1,000 for establishments which are unable to offer food - so-called "wet" pub.

But Matt said this would not be enough to support the pub through the winter.

Speaking to Sky News, he said: "I think for a micro business like myself, we are a tiny tiny wet-only pub, we have never done any food, and I was looking for support that was going to level things up with the other pubs or as I call them restaurants that serve alcohol to level that up really because those guys have had VAT reductions on food since July, they’ve had a fantastic Eat Out to Help Out scheme.

"I haven’t had anything as a wet pub and neither has my community, so I was looking for something significantly more to get us through the worst of this, the really dark winters."

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During lockdown the Wonston Arms began a delivery service and also adapted their offering to allow customers to safely return.

He continued: "When the regulations came out after lockdown one and we looked at them really carefully and we made a strategic decision there as a community to say we are going to stay outside, we are not going to use the inside of the pub, we are going to have everybody outside. We built a lovely bar area and seating area, people can actually stay outside and sit in the segregated booths of six and keep it safe. People really during the whole of this year have really adhered to that and see it as a safe place.

"My pub customers are scratching their hands now and saying well why can’t we sit out there and we are now being told to have a meal."

"There is a real disappointment and I am sad to say more and more frustration, which I don’t think is fair on the community.

"I’m not going to become a restaurant, that’s not what customers want and they are seeking Boris and the management team in Parliament to be a bit more reasonable and to provide them with something socially where they can actually get together in a small group of six, like they would not in the garden and have a couple of pints."

The British Beer & Pub Association said that on its own, the sum was "nowhere near enough to stave off thousands of pub closures", with Matt saying that he is unsure whether they would be able to survive.

He said: "If there is a way we will find a way, I tell you who is going to bail us out from this is the community. The customers are saying ‘well you are not getting any help from Government now Matt, we will have to try and help’. We have got staff, people who are coming and helping and working for free and taking the deliveries to people’s houses.

"One thing I learnt as a landlord is to never short measure my customers and they certainly feel like they have been short measured by the Government here with this new decision."