Pub bosses announced they are closing the popular venue in St Martin's Lane until Friday at noon - and apologised to customers who had bookings.

It is the latest hospitality business in York to be forced to close because of staff shortages brought about by staff having to isolate under the track and test system.

Yesterday, The Press reported how hotels and restaurants in York are losing thousands of pounds due to mass isolations among staff.

A rising number of venues are reporting reduced services and even temporary closures after members of staff have been told to self isolate by the NHS Test and Trace alerts.

Pub bosses announce on social media that The Ackhorne is to close until Friday

It takes just one positive case on site for alerts to flood in. Industry figures say this is damaging, and should be replaced by a ‘test and release’ system enabling fit and healthy people to continue to work while still being monitored.

Among those affected is Middlethorpe Hall in York after a staff member tested positive for Covid-19, forcing the rest of the kitchen team to self-isolate for 10 days.

Five key workers who all have to self-isolate has also led Walmgate Ale House and the Chopping Block in Walmgate to close for a week and cancel scores of bookings.

Half of Grays Court’s front of house team has also been told to self isolate by Test and Trace. The hotel has closed its bar, lunch and dinner operations until July 13.

In a post on social media yesterday featuring a photo of pub dog Buddy, landlords at The Ackhorne posted:

"The reason Buddy is grumpy today is the fact we have had to close due to a number of Track and Trace notifications having gone off for staff.

Unfortunately this means we will not be able to reopen until Friday at 12pm (after a deep clean).

This will be with some new faces behind the bar so please bear with!

We understand that a few people had bookings with us over the next few days, but in order to keep you and the staff safe, we will have to cancel these. If you have any questions regarding bookings, please get in touch.

Thank you for your understanding, we will be back as soon as we safely can!"

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