PUB landlords who paired up with the chippy next door, allowing them to beat tier two restrictions, say the plan has been a huge success.

Mark and Debie Daniels feared they would be banned from re-opening The Brewers Arms in St John’s because they don’t sell food.

Under tier two rules, which applies to the Worcester boozer, only pubs serving ‘substantial meals’ are able to re-open.

The couple, who are already £14,000 in debt from paying rent on the pub during the two lockdowns, feared being forced to remain closed over the busy Christmas period could kill of their business.

But they have reopened after joining forces with St John's Fish Bar next door, which is owned by their friend Nick Zipiti, who brings boxes of food to customers in the pub who order via The Brewers Arms.

Mr Daniels, 49, said that prior to the pandemic, the pub would allow customers to bring in fish and chips, explaining: “Because we don’t have a kitchen we welcomed Nick’s customers to bring fish and chips into the pub and eat their food as long as they bought a drink.

“This was something that I thought about doing during the first lockdown and during the last couple of weeks, I had some messages from Nick that he felt sorry for us, asking if there was anything we could do together to make this work.

“We came up with the idea of a shortened chip shop menu so things can be done as a box meal. We went to the council and rang them and they thought it was an ingenious idea themselves.

“To keep within the laws, when people come in they have to order a meal and pay through our till and then we square up with Nick later on. The only stipulation is it cannot be a case of buying food and bringing it in – it has got to be served through these premises.

“We have had a brilliant response. We have had a few negative comments but my argument to that is the fact we don’t have a communal kitchen so why should that penalise us?

"We are still staying within the Covid-19 restrictions and health restrictions. The safest place to drink is in a controlled environment. In the pub, you are coming in and you're led straight to a table and can order on the app or we go to the table and take the order - there is no safer way.

"We are trying to keep the business afloat and keep a roof over our heads. We live here, it is our life.”