ONE of the pubs to reopen at the weekend has introduced quirky lawn circles in its garden, to help patrons socially distance.

The Pear At Parley, an independent pub in Ferndown, has placed each of the circles two-metres apart within its five-acre garden.

Mark Miller, co-owner and chef at The Pear At Parley, said: “Pub gardens have been a staple British tradition for many years, so we wanted to ensure our customers could enjoy them in all their glory once again after the restrictions of lockdown.

"Our lawn circles are a simple method to help people feel safe and secure, while being able to relax and bask in the beautiful outdoors with a cool drink in hand.”

Mark says a variety of other permanent fixtures have been introduced as part of its new health and safety measures for re-opening.

These include floor screens in its bar and restaurant areas, face coverings for front of house staff, one-way walkthrough systems and hand sanitising stations.

Mark said: “We’ve had incredibly positive feedback about our new set up since re-opening, as our customers have appreciated our efforts to keep the warm and welcoming environment they know and love here.

"We want all of our new measures to be as unobtrusive as possible, so guests can feel comfortable and inspired to return in the future.”

Last weekend's reopening of pubs failed to deliver the boost to town centre shopping many had hoped for.

Nationally, shopping visits remain only half the level of this time last year.

Meanwhile, data released by Barclaycard showed the latest easing of pub and restaurant restrictions helped the number of transactions on hospitality, leisure and entertainment over the July 4/5 weekend grow by 19 per cent compared to the previous weekend.

However, this still represented 45 per cent less than the same time in 2019.