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North Somerset: Landlord who cannot open 'victimised by post code'

BBC John Hayes, landlord at the Old Inn, Hutton, North SomersetBBC
John Hayes, landlord at the Old Inn in North Somerset says drinkers will travel the short distance to pubs opening in tier two areas

A landlord from North Somerset who is unable to open his pub due to Covid-19 restrictions next week, says he feels "victimised by post code".

John Hayes' pub the Old Inn, Hutton, is in tier three meaning he is not permitted to open when the national lockdown ends next Wednesday.

He said the location of his "countryside" pub was different to Bristol and should be allowed to open.

"Somewhere along the line we've been sold down the river," he said.

Hutton is some 20 miles (32km) outside of Bristol, and is close to Weston-super-Mare.

The government announced on Thursday that North Somerset would be grouped in tier three - very high alert, along with Bristol and South Gloucestershire.

Metro mayor Tim Bowles
Metro mayor Tim Bowles said he had urged the government to try to find a similar tier level for the whole region, including BANES

"It seems that anywhere associated with Bristol has come under tier three and I don't think our part of the world is the same," said Mr Hayes.

"We're not Bristol, we're in the countryside. Nobody has checked where we are, we've been victimised by post code. Tier three is just as bad as the original lockdown, it gives us nothing."

He also warned that he expected lots of people to visit pubs in BANES, just a short drive away, which will be under lighter tier two restrictions and can open next week.

"Three miles down the road you can go into Sedgemoor [in Somerset] and get a drink," Mr Hayes added.

Bath and North East Somerset joins the vast majority of the south west in tier two, which leader of BANES council Dine Romero has welcomed but West of England mayor Tim Bowles said he felt it would have been "wise" to have a similar tier level for the whole region.

MP for North Somerset Liam Fox and Weston-super-Mare MP John Penrose issued a joint statement, saying the decision to put North Somerset in tier three "isn't right or fair" and called it "illogical".

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North Somerset's director of public health Matt Lenny said: "Although cases are falling we are still at a relatively high rate of over 200 per 100,000 people.

"I want to say thank you to everyone for all the hard work but we don't want to lose the momentum. We have to go again and redouble our efforts."

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