A village pub has taken the decision to only open three nights a week because bills have gone "through the roof". Husband and wife Mike and Michelle Tunnicliffe, who own the Castle Inn in Llangors in the the Brecon Beacons, said they are now paying around £1,600 a month in energy bills - which is more than they used to pay when they were open every day.
"It's flown up," said Mike, 56. "Last year and in 2021, when we were open all the time, we would pay nowhere near that. It's gone up so much." Michelle, 54, added they used to pay around "£1,000 tops" a month to run the pub seven days a week before the cost of living crisis. You can get the latest WalesOnline newsletters e-mailed to you directly for free by signing up here.
Recalling their decision to reduce their hours, Mike said: "Towards Christmas, we were just looking at the amount of money that we'd have to take a day just to cover the bills - you lose less and make more by not being open. You're burning wood, you've got your gas on, you've got your electricity on, you've got your coolers on and it all adds up."
