Covid: Cornwall pubs decide to stay closed over new year

Some Cornwall pubs are to stay closed over the new year period, partly because of coronavirus concerns.

Some landlords said they had safety concerns, claiming people had come in from tier three and four areas.

They also said they had had business problems with the county moving to tier two restrictions at short notice since 26 December, meaning alcohol could only be served with a substantial meal.

Cornwall had been the only part of the English mainland in tier one.

Amy Newland, landlady at the White Hart Inn, in Chilsworthy, said the tier two move had "made a huge difference".

She said: "We were really lucky in tier one - our last day [open] was Christmas Day. But we weren't doing food on Boxing Day, so we had to close."

Ms Newland said they did open for Sunday lunch but "we could all see that we were running at a loss."

She added she was still considering opening on New Year's Day but she needed "to see if it's actually going to be viable for us".

Elsewhere in the county, the King Arthur's Arms in Tintagel said on Facebook it was shutting "for the near future".

It said it was "in a large part due to some visitors from tiers three and four postcodes failing to adhere to the stay-at-home rules and guidance" and "actively making life unpleasant for our staff".

The Heron Inn, in Malpas near Truro, said on Facebook on Sunday it also had "too many customers from tiers three and four attempting to find a loophole or way around the strict rules and guidelines".

It said: "We now feel that we cannot keep our staff and customers safe in this situation. We will not break the rules, we will not put anyone at risk."

People are advised not to travel to and from tier three areas, and people should not leave tier four areas under government restrictions.