Pubs and restaurants in both Wales and England will have to close by 10pm from Thursday after new rules were put in place by First Minister Mark Drakeford and Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

New rules were announced in televised statements by both Mr Drakeford and Mr Johnson on Tuesday evening.

It comes as part of new Government restrictions over fears of a further rise in the number of Covid-19 infections.

Pubs in Llanymynech, situated either side of the border, were expecting to have to adhere to different rules, with there being no sign of a change to rules in Wales prior to Mr Drakeford's announcement.

One landlord on the Welsh side of the border, John Turner of Llanymynech, said prior to the announcement that he was content with remaining open past 10pm.

He also felt there would have been the possibility of more customers visiting past 10pm, and would have been confident about welcoming further custom with the measures his pub has in place.

Prior to the announcement, he said: “There is a possibility that there may be a rush of people wanting to come here after the pubs close the other side of the border.

“But because we are still abiding by the two-metre rule, we obviously restrict the numbers that come in.

“I’d welcome extra custom but we are limited to the amount we will be able to take.

“Because we’re on the Welsh side, we’re still maintaining the two metre distance at our premises.”

General manager of The Bradford Arms Hotel on the English side of Llanymynech, Bob Hedley, also spoke about the possibility of the two village pubs having to abide by different rules prior to the announcement. 

He said he believes pubs across the UK should have been brought under the same ruling earlier in the pandemic.

Mr Hedley said: “They should have come together and made one set of rules for the whole lot across the board.

“I think they’re trying to stop people going out later at night which I understand, but that won’t really massively affect us.”

It is not the first time the pubs have had to adhere to different rules – Mr Turner’s pub remained closed for an extra month under Welsh regulations, while Mr Hedley’s pub was able to open in July.

Mr Hedley said: “The tables have turned a bit because we had to wait an extra month until we were allowed to open here.

“I don’t think staying open beyond 10pm will make a massive difference to our turnover, but it will at least keep us open.”

The announcement regarding pub curfews was made after the Advertizer's print edition was sent to press.