Lockdown-weary Britons are today demanding ‘let us back in the pubs now’, after the bank holiday washout.
Hundreds of pubs, bars, cafes and restaurants to close early on Monday’s May Day Bank Holiday as wet and windy weather put a dampener on the three-day weekend.
And forecasters warn more bad weather could be on the way, with experts predicting a week-long cold snap – which could see temperatures drop to -2C.
Pub-goers in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have all been given the green light to return to watering-holes after lockdown, but only in outdoor areas.
Now al fresco drinkers and pub landlords are calling on Boris Johnson to get indoor areas of cafes, restaurants and bars open ahead of May 17 – when the Government hopes to allow indoor areas to reopen.
Many took to Twitter to out their frustration, with one saying: ‘What a complete flop of a bank holiday weekend!
‘Saturday’s meal out and drinks cancelled. Yesterday’s drinks out cancelled. Today’s lunch out cancelled. Let us inside the pubs.’
Hundreds of pubs, bars, cafes and restaurants to close early on Monday’s May Day Bank Holiday as wet and windy weather put a dampener on the three-day weekend. Pictured:
Forecasters warn more bad weather could be on the way, with experts predicting a week-long cold snap – which could see temperatures drop to -2C
Pub-goers in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have all been given the green light to return to watering-holes after lockdown, but only in outdoor areas
Others backed the calls, saying being kept out of pubs despite Britain’s plunging Covid infection rates was ‘madness’.
One Twitter user, speaking ahead of the bank holiday washout, said: ‘The weather forecast for the bank holiday Monday where I live is dire.
‘Let us inside the bloody pubs for goodness sake. This is madness.’
Another, from Northern Ireland, said: ‘Just open pubs inside. Enough is enough. Not enjoyable eating and drinking in the wind and rain.
‘Hopefully the executive will bring dates forward to May 17.’
One pub landlord shared a picture of his wet and empty beer garden, saying: ‘If we are following dates not data, let us inside pubs.’
Another pub-goer wrote: ‘It’s just fat too cold to eat or drink outside.’
Others joked that the weather would pick-up again as soon as indoor restrictions were lifted, with one saying: ‘As soon as the pubs reopen there will be a heatwave and no-one will want to sit inside.’
It comes as revellers were forced to brave downpours across the bank holiday weekend, as they streamed back to pub beer gardens to make the most of the easing of Covid restrictions.
A group of hardy pub goers were spotted an outdoor pint in the pouring rain outside The Cranberry Farm pub, in Exeter, Devon, while others were seen holding blankets over their heads while sitting outside at a bar in Wallingford, Oxfordshire.
Plummeting temperatures also saw a freak hail storm hit the Isle of Wight, leaving left fields looking more like a winter wonderland.
Driving winds and rain then led to a wash out on Bank Holiday Monday.
Dan Trivedi, of the Prince of Denmark pub on Sprowston Road, told the Eastern Daily Press thatMonday had been their worst day on record.
He told the paper: ‘With it being cold and really wet, it was just a wash-out. We have got lots of umbrellas but they can’t stop all of it.
We have taken more money in the quietest periods when we were doing takeaways.’
One pub in Hull decided to shut on Bank Holiday Monday due to the bad weather.
The Star Inn in Willerby posted on Facebook on Monday: ‘With heavy rain expected later today, we have decided not to open the beer garden today.’
Snow and ice blanketed the pitch for the Champions League semi final in Manchester, as temperatures plunged to freezing yesterday.
Today, temperatures are again set to dip below zero in some areas, with more bad weather on the way.