A pub landlord has started pinning energy bills to her bar to show customers why she has been forced to increase her prices.
Michelle Knight, 48, has started sticking up her energy bills behind the bar to prove to punters that there is a legitimate reason behind her decision to rise the price of a pint to keep on top of the cost of living crisis.
The landlord says that drinkers at The Six Bells in Coity, a village in Bridgend County Borough, south Wales are now having to pay more for their drinks - with the price of a pint of draught rising up to 40p, report Wales Online.
However, in hope that fewer barrels will be on the go in the cellar - which means that the pub's cooling system won't have to work as hard - Michelle has revealed that she has halved a number of beers - including ales and ciders - available.
And in trying to cut back costs, the landlord has revealed that the long-awaited Christmas parties are another thing that will be 'off the menu' in her pub for 2022.
Michelle has gone on to claim that - with her bills having leapt from £1,313 to £3,404 since October 2021 - the drastic measures she is being forced to take are her only hope of keeping the place afloat.
The 48-year-old said: "I've got to do it for the longevity of the pub," after disclosing that she took over The Six Bells from her stepmother and father in April 2018.
She went on to tell the BBC : "I'd rather go into the winter knowing what I know now - have minimum staff and fewer products - and try to drip feed through.
"I don't want to restrict things, but our customers would prefer having a smaller choice and the pub still being here come the New Year, as opposed to having a larger choice and it being closed."
However, the punters in her pub have far from given her decision their unanimous backing, saying: "They're shocked, saying, 'It must be wrong'.
"But I've just told them that because of the electricity bills that's how much it's got to be. I've had people saying they wont be able to come here anymore or wont be able to come as often or drink as much."
If necessary Michelle said she'd even resort to only selling cans and bottles this winter, adding: "Even if I shut the cellar off and do cans and bottles, I'll still keep the pub open.
"And this pub isn't particularly big. There are others the area much bigger than mine that must be going through the same sort of thing."
She also claimed that, despite the UK Government vowing to help businesses' energy costs via the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, business rates relief and a £2.4bn fuel duty cut - not to mention small business protection from a 2023 rise in corporation tax - support had been 'a big grey area'.
Michelle asked: "I can't find out from my utility suppliers what my discount looks like, so how can you plan ahead when you don't know what you're getting?".
She added that people need to all they can to help local pubs, which are the hub of many communities, stay afloat in increasingly tough times, saying: "We rely on our regulars to keep us ticking along, so please just keep coming and supporting."
A spokesperson for the government added: "A Treasury-led review will consider how to support businesses from April 2023, targeting taxpayer's money to the most vulnerable."
