The Plymouth pub closing two days a week because of spiralling energy costs

The landlord of a Plymouth pub says he is closing his doors in the daytime two days a week because of spiralling energy costs and slow trade.

Gareth Hughes-Williams, who runs the George Inn Plympton, told ITV News he is trading at 70 per cent of pre-pandemic levels and will open at 5pm on Mondays and Tuesdays.

"Weekday lunchtimes have always been a bit quiet, and at the moment it probably costs more to open than we actually take," he said.

A typical household will pay no more than £2,500 per year for their energy bills, Prime Minister Liz Truss has announced under "bold" new plans to tackle soaring prices that will come into effect next month.

Businesses, schools and hospitals will also receive equivalent support under a six-month scheme over the winter months.

But landlord Gareth says this does not go far enough.

"They should look at business rates, they should look at a VAT cut similar to what they did in the pandemic, because 20 per cent of everything we sell goes straight to the Government every quarter," he said.

"Hopefully people will have more disposable income, because when that goes down the last thing you're thinking about is going to the pub and having a nice meal."

The PM's plan - paid for by tens of billions of pounds of borrowing - will save the typical household around £1,000 and protect billpayers from further expected rises over the coming months.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the package was welcome but reiterated that the plan "does not come cheap” and warned "the bill will be picked up by the working people".