A pub owner says his business is unlikely to survive if it cannot open before June.

Iain Mora, owner of the Theydon Oak village pub in Epping, says the survival of his livelihood is reliant on “substantial financial support” from the Government if it is to keep afloat.

Mr Moran says he has already spent “large sums” installing virus preventative equipment to stop the spread of Covid-19 and to keep staff and customers safe.

However, prior to the most recent national lockdown, the Theydon Oak had seen a drop in customer footfall and Mr Moran suggested the requirement to provide a ‘substantial meal’ was a contributing factor.

The publican is supporting Countryside Alliance’s call for the requirement to be scrapped, when pubs re-open again.

He was one of the respondents who took part in the national rural campaigning organisation’s nationwide survey which found 92 per cent of landlords want to scrap the requirement for customers to purchase a ‘substantial meal’.

The impact was underlined with 57 per cent reporting that regulars stopped coming to their pubs when the rule was in place and 82 per cent saw a reduction in overall footfall.

Only 34 per cent of those responding say they can last out being shut until Summer while respondents were split over reintroduction of the ‘Eat out to Help out’ scheme.

Sarah Lee, of the Countryside Alliance, said: “Rightly much of the Government’s focus is on rolling out vaccinations across the country. It is only through doing this that we can seriously pave the way for returning to normality. Understandably, the underlying anxieties and hurt caused by Covid-19 across the pub industry remain very much alive. Pubs are at the forefront of their communities up and down the countryside and their loss would be both catastrophic and irreversible.

“When the government address the matter of easing lockdown, pubs need a clear roadmap and sufficient, practical advance warning. Rules such as having to purchase substantial meals for example, need to be scrapped as this appears to be having an adverse effect on customer flow, something many pubs just can’t afford. Financial security in the event of prolonged periods of closure is also key to their survival.”

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