A pub had to close almost a week before lockdown after the landlord and landlady contracted Covid-19 along with seven members of its football team.

The Rising Sun in East Malling shut its doors to drinkers on Friday following positive test results for landlord Paul Fincham and his wife Tina.

He said that he believes around seven players in the pub's Sunday league football side had also come down with the coronavirus.

Mr Fincham said: "We had to shut up and I went to have the test on Friday.

"I'm on the mend, I'm getting there slowly. We'll be closed for the next few weeks."

With pubs ordered to close their doors during the month-long lockdown #2, the pub in Mill Street will now not be reopening until December 3 at the earliest.

Mr Fincham said that while the lockdown is in place the business will be shut entirely and will not be offering takeaway or delivery services, unlike some other businesses affected by the shutdown.

In the last week of October, 1,863 new cases of Covid-19 were recorded in Kent - 551 more than in the previous week.

The borough of Tonbridge and Malling, which is home to the affected pub, had seen its number of coronavirus cases rise further in the week to October 25, up 47% on the number the week previous.

Pub landlords had hit out at the "nonsensical" decision to ban takeaway alcohol during second lockdown, which begins across England today.

But a Government U-turn means the new rules now state that customers must pre-order their takeaway drinks online, or by phone or post, which can be collected as long as they do not enter a premises.

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