A PUB landlord has spoken of his delight after welcoming back his first customers for three months.

David Brady, who runs The Alma in Copford, reopened the premises to customers at 11.30am on Monday morning.

He said the pub was fully booked for food on Monday as punters flocked back to their local.

Mr Brady said: "We welcomed our first customer through the doors at 11.30am. He is a regular from the village.

"There is a huge sense of relief for us and it is really good to be open.

"We have 30 members of staff and the building has been almost empty for three months.

"It has been good to welcome the staff back and get things ready for reopening.

"Having people inside the building again made a huge difference.

"Pubs are meant to have people in them."

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To help meet Covid regulations the pub created a new outside dining and drinking space in what was its car park.

And Mr Brady said they now have space for between 140 and 150 people at once.

Staff are preparing for a very busy few days, particularly at the weekend when it is hoped the weather will be nice.

Mr Brady said: "If we are fully it means we are going to be very busy.

"We need to manage people's expectations and the waits may be a little longer than normal.

"All the health and safety changes have already been made and there's enough space for people to social distance.

"We did however have to redo the kitchen due to some new rules.

"It cost us around £15,000. Now it is just the chef who will be in their with everyone else outside."

He added: "But we are just glad to be reopening - it is great news."

Pubs were able to reopen their beer gardens on Monday, with restaurants also allowed to reopen outside spaces too.

Indoor hospitality spaces will be reopening on May 17 if the Government's roadmap out of lockdown moves ahead as planned.