Takeaway pints are BANNED under second lockdown: One in 4 pubs to close for good

Any beer left in pub cellars when pubs are forced to close for a second lockdown will have to be 'tipped down the drain', pub bosses warned, as it emerged restrictions are set to include a ban on selling takeaway pints.  

Under the new regulations, which come into effect on Thursday, pubs and bars will not be able to serve alcohol to take away - as was permitted during the first lockdown.

Takeaway pints were allowed as the first lockdown was eased when ministers voted for a temporary change to strict licensing laws to allow people to buy alcohol from pubs and drink it in parks or on pavements to make it easier to social distance.

The move was credited with helping many hard-hit pubs stay afloat after the first lockdown. 

Several independent breweries have voiced their concerns online and asked to be given 'a fighting chance' by being allowed to serve alcohol to take away.

One industry figure said the rules were 'baffling' and said the ban for hospitality venues is unprecedented, unexplained, and will only benefit supermarkets and off-sales retailers. 

The Campaign for Real Ale National Chairman, Nik Antona, warned the price would be at the expense of community pubs and local brewers. 

He said: 'Offering alcohol for takeaway was a lifeline for many pubs, and particularly breweries, during the first lockdown in England. 

'It is a baffling and damaging decision to remove this option, particularly when other businesses such as supermarkets can continue to sell takeaway alcohol.

'Pubs and breweries were already reporting losses and the risk of closure before Christmas, and this will only add to the risk of permanent closures within the next few months. 

'CAMRA and the entire pub and brewery industry are now urging the Government to reverse this bizarre decision and ensure the survival of our pubs and breweries.

'We are encouraging all concerned consumers to write to their MP and request the scrapping of the takeaway sales ban to give pubs and brewers in England a better chance of surviving the lockdown. 

'This also needs to be accompanied with a sector-specific support package to avoid permanent closures, otherwise the damage to communities across the country will be irreparable.'

CAMRA has now written to the Cabinet Office, which is at the heart of the Government’s coordination efforts to tackle COVID, to demand the removal of the restriction.