ONE of Southampton's top pubs has closed because a member of staff is awaiting the outcome of a coronavirus test.

The award-winning Dancing Man Brewery (DMB) at Town Quay announced on Thursday it had shut temporarily due to what it described as "unforeseen circumstances".

Yesterday the pub confirmed that the closure was related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a statement business partners Aidan Lavin and Mandy Lacey said: "We take the safety of our staff and customers very seriously at DMB.

"During the current crisis, we have done everything necessary to provide a safe and happy environment for everyone and we have received countless commendations on our procedures.

"Unfortunately, there is no rule book for what happens next, so we have done what we feel is the right thing to do.

"We took the huge step to close the business on Wednesday as a precautionary measure.

"One of our wonderful team is also a health care professional and is being tested for the virus.

"We are working with Public Health England and although they stated it was not deemed necessary for us to close, we decided it was the safest and morally correct decision to make.

"We closed our doors immediately to limit any potential spread.

"We await confirmation and should it be a positive result, we will then act as per the government guidelines.

"Be assured we are doing everything in our power to reopen as soon as we can, but we want to make sure it is safe for you to return.

"Whilst closed we are busy applying the latest legislation, deep cleaning our beautiful building, updating our team of the new procedures, processes and guidance from Uncle Boris and getting ready for your return.

"Thank you for all your messages of love and support. We will be seeing you all very soon."