A PUBLICAN says he had to throw £4,500 worth of stock away in the first lockdown, and fears a repeat this time if lockdown is extended.

Mark Daniels, who runs the Brewers Arms, in St John’s, Worcester, said this time he had been prepared for lockdown but if, as he fears, it continues into December his pub will take a financial hit again.

Mr Daniels said: “The last lockdown I had a beer delivery on the day of locking down, at 11am that morning.

“I hoped I would be lucky and get a week out of it, but as it happened the announcement (from the Prime Minister) was 5pm that day.

“That was £5,000 worth of beer. I traded that day, maybe £500 I took, so £4,500 of that was wasted.

“But I don’t think I will have to waste much this time, if we open in December.

"This one, if we had a repeat and had a lockdown of 14 weeks I would potentially be up for the same loss.

“So far the craft beer is out of date. I will wait for Severn Trent to tell me when to dispose of it.

“If we open on the date they are saying the financial loss will be a lot less (because the beer will be in date and able to be sold).

“There is no point for me selling takeaway beer during lockdown, as some are doing.

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“I would be classed as trading again, so the rent wouldn’t be frozen. I can walk up the road and buy six cans for £4, what chance have I got.

“This is why pubs are so important - people don’t just come for the beer, it is a community place.

“I can't see the point standing waiting all day to see if someone would come for a takeaway pint.”

Mr Daniels was speaking after Severn Trent Water appealed for pubs to contact them before pouring away large quantities of beer into the sewer system, and potentially causing blockages.

During the first lockdown the water company authorised the disposal of over 3.5 million litres of beer - around 6 million pints.

Severn Trent’s sewer blockages lead, Grant Mitchell, said: “Despite the news that pubs will still be able to sell takeaway pints, we know that many establishments will unfortunately need to dispose of excess beer during lockdown.

“It’s really important that any spoiled beer is disposed of correctly, as there are some risks associated with tipping large quantities into the sewer system all at once.

"Not only could it flood the sewer pipe network and escape into the environment, but too much alcohol can also impair the bugs that help clean our sewage, making them less effective at their job.

“We also need to make sure that if lots of alcohol is disposed of, all at the same time, our smaller sewage works don’t get overwhelmed and flood.”