MODEL turned landlord Jodie Kidd has spoken of the immense challenges awaiting UK pubs as they aim to recover from closure during the coronavirus crisis.

She reopened her own venue, The Half Moon in Kirdford, near Billingshurst, for takeaway only last weekend but warned that she believed pubs would not be able to welcome people inside for many months.

“We are going to be the last places (to reopen in full),” the 41-year-old explained.

“The hospitality industry, restaurants and pubs, they will be the last places to reopen because they represent everything that we don’t need to be doing right now - socialising and being around people. I have been speaking to friends within the industry and, realistically, I don’t think we will be going full speed again until before Christmas.”

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Speaking on ITV’s This Morning from the cosy and compact bar area of her 15th century Grade II listed pub, Jodie also raised concerns over the possibility of implementing social distancing measures when pubs reopen due to the architecture of UK venues.

“A lot of British pubs are old and low-beamed kind of places which are a bit higgledy piggledy,” Jodie said, gesturing at the room behind her. Putting social distancing measures in there would mean I would only get two people in. It’s just going to be really difficult for period properties that are pubs.

“If you have got space then you are able to do it but there are so many pubs and restaurants in the UK that are very small and it would just be impossible to manage (in these buildings).”

She also warned of the sustainability of this, saying that serving three pints an hour rather than 30 was “just not going to be cost effective”.

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But Jodie praised landlords up and down the country for their creativity during the lockdown.

She said: “The great thing is people are really thinking outside the box. We have started doing takeaway services and I have seen others sites have turned into farm shops and places you can go and do click and collect, and get farm produce from.

“It’s a time when we are going to have to think differently. These are really unprecedented times for everybody and it’s tough, but there are ways you can keep certain members of staff going by just being creative.”

The Half Moon has managed to bring three staff members back in to man its newly opened takeaway service.

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