Horncastle landlord calls for action against street drinkers

Scott McLachlan has revealed takings at the Ship Inn crashed by 73 per cent during the first weekend that Britain’s boozers were controversially ordered to shut at 10pm.

He says the pub, which has undergone thousands of pounds of renovation work, won’t survive the six months many experts suggest the restriction will stay in place.

Mr McLachlan says he was ‘close to tears’ on the first night of early closing when he was forced to shut early only to witness a group of more than 20 people drinking within yards of his business – without social distancing.

He claims ‘eight police officers’ did disperse the group but no-one was fined, and instead moved to other parts of the town amid reports of residents being upset by noisy behaviour.

Mr McLachlan told the News: “The 10pm curfew is supposed to deter drinking in groups but it is having the opposite effect.

“What is the point in pubs closing early if people can buy cheap supermarket booze up until 10pm and then drink in the streets without any social distancing?

“Just five per cent of Covid-19 cases can be traced directly back to pubs whereas 35% are caused by either people drinking in public - or in parties in their own homes.

“We are being punished unfairly. My takings are down 73%. It’s not rocket science to work out we can’t carry on for much longer.

“It’s not just us. We need the police and other authorities to enforce the regulations. If you fine one or two, word would soon get around.”

Mr McLachlan said he believed it was a ‘difficult time’ for all pubs, hotels and restaurants in the area.

He said the Ship Inn had spent ‘hundreds of pounds’ making sure it complied with ‘all’ Covid-19 regulations.

He added: “We have a 2am licence and the majority of our trade is after 10pm, especially on a Friday and Saturday night.”

He explained the first Friday the curfew was brought in, the pub was ‘fairly busy’ but started to empty 15 minutes before closing.

He says he heard customers talking about ‘getting together’ to drink in the street – or in someone’s home.

He added: “I watched them walk up the road to a supermarket and come back loaded with booze.

“When I was pot-washing about ten minutes after closing, I looked out of the window and saw people drinking on an area of grass opposite the pub.

“I could have wept. I could see my livelihood disappearing in front of my eyes.

“The Government needs to think again about 10pm.

“We’ve met all Covid-19 regulations but not one official has called in to check.

“We could have had groups of drinkers in all the time and no one would have been any the wiser.”

Mr McLachlan said it was ‘pointless’ bringing in local measures as people would travel from other areas where strict lockdowns are in force to drink in Horncastle.

He also claimed another licensed premises in the Horncastle area had been reported for flouting regulations – but no action had been taken.

The Ship Inn has been hit particularly badly hit by Covid. It re-opened just a couple of days before the national lockdown was introduced.

That meant employees missed the deadline for furlough.

Mr McLachlan added: “There are grants available for some businesses – up to £1,500 every three weeks. But because we haven’t been trading for long, we’re not eligible.”

• The News contacted Lincolnshire Police for a statement. A spokesman said they could not find a reported incident on their system which matched the description given.

The force, however, did confirm that officers attended a separate incident that evening.

A force spokesman said: “Incident 505 of September 25 and relates to a large group of youths on Langton Drive reported at 9.04pm.

“They were reported to not be social distancing. We attended but no group was found.”