A pub boss says he has managed to find a safe way for customers to enjoy a tipple while social distancing.
Drinkers at the The Betsey Wynne in Swanbourne, Buckinghamshire, will enter and leave through a one-way system and be seated at tables two metres apart that are separated by Perspex screens.
Customers will be urged to keep their hands clean with gel dispensers visually displayed throughout the premises and they will use disposable menus to place their order using a phone app.
The pub would have a limit of 250 customers but the premises is spacious and also has a big beer garden.
Peter Borg-Neal, CEO of Oakman Inns which owns the pub said is being used as a prototype to demonstrate how the scheme could offer pubs a lifeline.
He told The Sun: “The country is desperate for a proper pint in the pub and we are asking the Government to treat us like grown-ups and let us open.
“We strongly believe in this idea and are presenting it to the Cabinet Office via our trade body, UK Hospitality."
A government adviser is reportedly supportive of the measures and brewery chiefs say it can be in place three weeks after getting the green light.
The innovative plan comes hospitality bosses have warned that around 19,000 pubs may have to close their doors permanently if they are among the last businesses to be allowed to reopen by the government.
Boris Johnson previously announced the hospitality sector - including pubs and bars - must remain closed until at least July.
The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) has warned that up 40 per cent of Britain's pubs cannot survive beyond September with the current level of financial support being offered by the Government.
Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the BBPA, said despite looking for a "glimmer of hope", the industry now faced further weeks of uncertainty.
"With insufficient clarity as to when pubs will reopen, our sector remains in limbo and facing severe uncertainty and financial devastation," she said.
Mr Borg-Neal echoed her claims adding that pubs need to reopen to get the economy 'going again'.
He said when the lockdown was announced 20 barrels (2,000 pints) from The Betsey had to be returned to the brewery.
He added: “I can get on a Tube train with a load of strangers but I can’t go and have a pint in the pub with a mate. Where is the logic?”
Government adviser Professor Robert Dingwall said: “If it is a sunny weekend and the pub has a garden and the landlords are prepared to accept responsibility for not overcrowding it, I see no particular reason why it should not reopen.”
Mr Borg-Neal added: “We’d need three weeks’ notice to get in deliveries so even if we got the all-clear on Monday we wouldn’t open until next month.
“The Government needs to crack on and get pubs open as quickly as possible. Everyone is desperate for a pint and what is more traditionally British then a drink in your local.”
The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) says landlords may be forced to throw more than 50 million pints of beer and cider down the drain because of the lockdown.
Chief executive Tom Stainer told the BBC : "It's a very sad waste of all the work and talent that goes into producing great beer.
"People won't get to drink it and all those resources have been used up for nothing."
