Warwick pub closure is a golden let-down

A couple celebrating their golden wedding anniversary were left standing outside a locked pub restaurant where they had booked a table for ten, including their disabled daughter.

Maureen and Michael North were hoping to enjoy a meal with relatives who had travelled from South Wales, Guildford and Leicestershire, along with their daughter Tracey, who has multiple sclerosis and lives independently at Castel Froma.

But last Sunday when they arrived at The Porridge Pot on Stratford Road, Warwick, they found the doors locked and no way of contacting anybody.

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A notice outside simply read that the premises would be closed all day.

Mrs North, aged 72, said: “We felt so angry - we’d only been in the week before to choose the best position for Tracey’s wheelchair at the table. It was a real disappointment but we made the most of it and took everyone along to the Lloyds, the Wetherspoons pub in Market Place where I know they are wheelchair-friendly.

On Monday the couple, who live in nearby Montgomery Court, did manage to contact managers at the pub who told them they had decided to close because of worries about the horse fair going on that day in Kenilworth.

On Thursday Matthew Morris, area manager for the Porridge Pot, said: “From time to time we are advised by the local police and licensing authority to close the Porridge Pot in Longbridge because of the horse fair to ensure customer safety.

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“Unfortunately, we don’t get very much notice when this happens, and Sunday was one of these occasions. We weren’t aware it was the customers’ golden wedding anniversary and didn’t have a contact number to reach them about the booking. We unreservedly apologise and feel terrible this disrupted their celebrations.

“To try and make it up to them, we’d like to invite the family in for a complimentary meal for ten on us.”

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