Wolverhampton pub closes its doors due to new lockdown restrictions

The Prince Albert pub in Railway Street has shut down temporarily as bosses believe the latest Government measures make staying open "financially unviable".

General manager Dale Murphy said: "The goalposts are consistently changing for licensed premises, firstly table service only, then close at 10pm and now friends from different households cannot sit together.

"The latest measure makes operating financially unviable as every customer would need to be checked and their address verified to ensure compliance which will increase staff costs again.

"And, especially at a night-time venue such as The Prince Albert, it is very rare for members of the same household to visit, the vast majority of our custom is people meeting friends to socialize.

"This is now not possible.

"We will of course closely monitor the situation as it develops and hopefully either Wolverhampton will drop to Tier 1 or there will be a further development that allows friends to meet indoors again.

"As soon as this happens The Prince Albert will be ready to welcome customers back."

The venue will be keeping customers updated at facebook.com/princealbertWV1.