A PUB has banned drinkers who are under 21 after "rude and obnoxious" behaviour by young boozers not following Covid guidelines.

The Old Neighbourhood in Stroud, Gloucestershire, claims table-hopping punters have flouted coronavirus social distancing rules since its garden reopened on April 12. 

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Landlord Jonathan Armstrong said regulars have stopped coming to the pub as they feel intimidated by the yobbish behaviour.

He has now slapped a 7pm curfew on drinkers who are 20 or under, unless they are with their parents.

He said: "Staff were constantly having to tell them to sit down, to stop hopping tables and to follow the guidelines. 

"Constantly you have to fight them about it and then they just start getting rude and obnoxious. 

'UPSET'

"We constantly have to apologise to neighbours because they're making such a noise. It's just not what we are about. It's a shame, it really is.

"We're really upset about it because it's something we're not used to and I think it's unnecessary."

He has now hired a doormen to monitor loutish youngsters who come to the pub, which has 140 outdoor seats.

Mr Armstrong said: "It's unfortunate because there are youngsters who are really well behaved and I hate painting people with the same brush."

The exasperated landlord hopes the situation improves once people are allowed to meet indoors under the rule of six from May 17.

Bars and restaurants will be able to welcome punters inside for the first time in months.

Pubs that don't have beer gardens or outdoor areas are set to reopen their doors from a week on Monday.

Mr Armstrong said: "I think what's happened is that a lot of the pubs have closed because they haven't got outside gardens, so anyone with a garden is attracting all these other people. 

"I often wonder if it's maybe because they've come of age during lockdown and they haven't been to a pub before.

"I'm not sure, they just don't seem to know how to behave. 

"We're a small country pub, we're not used to this type of behaviour. It's also the mess and the general bad etiquette that we're just not used to."

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