A family who runs a pub in Lancashire may soon lose their home as they are struggling to cover the energy bills for the venue.
Gemma and Gareth Gardner fear they could be without a home by Christmas as they struggle to cover the costs for The York, in Morecambe.
Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Gemma, 41, said: “The reality is if we don’t make this work we are homeless but we haven’t been breaking even for some time.
“We don’t earn enough money to pay the bills. We’ve used our military pensions and had to get bank loans.”
The former soldiers have four children. They said they are fortunate in that the owners, Admiral Taverns, are trying to help “keep a roof over our heads”.
Some 150 pubs in England and Wales have shut in the first few months of 2023. Publicans face bills up to £130,000 a year and many are struggling to cover the tab.
Another pub which is having a hard time making ends meet is the Crown and Anchor in Eastbourne. Landlady Heidi Lane, 57, said: “I’m so terrified every time a new bill comes in.
“I have told Scottish Power I am now in a position of talking about liquidating. But they want blood. They still want £7,000 a month from us. The only solution is for the Government to step in.”
A Scottish Power spokesman said: “We are looking into this as a priority and will work to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.”
Energy bills dropped from the start of July, when average bills for a typical household fell from £2,500 a year to £2,074 a year, as the Ofgem price cap fell.
But businesses such as pubs will face much larger bills than this and the cost of living continues to increase.
The latest figures for inflation were at 7.9 percent, with the price of many everyday essentials still going up, especially for food.
Food inflation fell to 17.3 percent in the figures for the year to June, meaning prices at the supermarkets are continuing to go up.
ONS chief economist, Grant, Fitzner said: “Food price inflation eased slightly this month, although it remains at very high levels.
“Although costs facing manufacturers remain elevated, especially for construction materials and food items, the pace of growth has fallen across the last year, with the overall cost of raw materials falling for the first time since late 2020.”
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