It’s time to say goodbye to the takeaway pints we all loved in lockdown

Punters will be gutted to hear that a temporary law allowing pubs to sell takeaway pints during lockdown is now being axed.

In a move to help struggling boozers during the Covid pandemic, the law was temporarily relaxed so they could sell takeaway drinks in the first lockdown.

But three years on this is now being axed after the government says it’s been through a public consultation on the subject.

Back in 2020 many pubs started doing takeaway alcoholic drinks to encourage more spending after suffering during the first lockdown.

Because they couldn’t go into venues to have a drink due to social distancing laws, punters bought takeaway pints to enjoy on a walk with friends or as part of a picnic at the local park.

And many pubs have continued selling takeaway drinks even after all the lockdowns as another revenue stream – but from next month they won’t be able to.

The lifeline will stop from September 30 due to a consultation that’s only had 174 responses.

One punter, Paul Marshall, 38, told The Sun: ‘I can’t see the rationale behind taking away this service.

‘If it brings money into the pubs and the economy, I’m all for takeaway pints staying in place.’

He added: ‘In this town we used to have 12 pubs and now we’re down to six.

‘Publicans need all the help they can get — not as many hindrances as the government can throw at them.’

In a statement, the Home Office said: ‘The decision to allow these temporary measures to lapse later this year follows a period of public consultation.

‘We believe our approach strikes the right balance between supporting businesses while listening and responding to the concerns of those impacted by licensing laws.’

While it’s been over three years since the first Covid lockdown in the UK, a new variant has emerged that people are catching.

Covid is currently on the rise in the UK, with an estimated 200,000 jump in cases in July.

Experts say that a new strain of Omicron, dubbed Eris, is partly to blame for the latest surge – and is responsible for one in seven UK Covid cases.

Other reasons for the increase include the recent wet weather – which is bringing more people together indoors – plus waning immunity from the vaccines, and the Arcturus sub-variant, which also stemmed from Omicron.

Hospitalisations are also up, though, thankfully, there has been a small drop in admissions to intensive care in the past two weeks.

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