A YORK pub landlord says he has found it 'soul destroying' to have to turn away many customers who simply want a pint and a bit of company, and can't afford to buy a meal.

Jason Hawkins, who runs the Three Tuns in Coppergate and the Blue Boar in Castlegate, said many of his older clientele were being deprived of human contact by being unable to go to the pub under the city's Tier 2 restrictions.

"The news is full of stories about people's mental health, and yet they can't socialise in the one place that’s been a mainstay in their lives - the British pub," he said.

"People go to pubs to celebrate, commiserate, meet friends, relax by themselves and reflect.

"The hardest part of the current conditions is having to turn away many of our customers who simply want a pint and a bit of company.

"They don’t all want to dine, nor can they all afford to buy a meal to simply enjoy a pint and some friendly conversation.

"It for us, as a pub business and a part of the wider community, soul destroying to have to operate this way."

Jason said pubs seemed to be taking the blame for any spikes in the coronavirus without evidence to back it up, and most of the publicans he knew had spent a lot of time and money making pubs a safe environment for their staff and customers.

He said trading in the Tier 2 restrictions had so far been 'tough,' adding: "I have one pub just about breaking even and one trading at a significant loss.

"I’m fortunate that I have a well established business having been trading for over 10 years and have sufficient business reserves to survive the crisis but many hospitality business are not so lucky.

"The festive season is usually extremely busy and sets the business up for the first quarter of the financial year.

"We are grateful for the Government support but as an industry it does little to scratch the surface;the traditional tough times of January and February are still to come."