A LANDLORD was ordered to close his pub just five hours after he returned from his honeymoon because of a crackdown by council officers.

Chris Joyce, 32, received a phone call from Pendle Council informing him that he had to close his pub within 15 minutes after an apparent breach of licensing guidelines.

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Mr Joyce, who runs the George and Dragon pub in Barrowford, said that by the time he will be able to reopen he will have lost up to £15,000 in turnover and 36 gallons of real ale.

It came a month after the pub was forced to close for a night because of flooding in the area with Mr Joyce having to turf out two Christmas parties costing him more than £2,500.

The landlord had taken over the pub in May 2013, after it was bought by the Warren family from previous owners Enterprise Inns.

Mr Joyce is currently buying the building off the family in regular instalments, which should see him become the sole owner in 2020.

Derek Warren, whose name was on the pub’s licence, died in August 2014, with the pub continuing to trade under his name until officers swooped on the pub on Friday, January 23.

Mr Joyce said that it was an honest mistake that he was paying heavily for and that he had not been informed that a name change had to happen.

He received a phone call hours after returning to the pub in Gisburn Road from his honeymoon in the Maldives informing him of the pub’s imminent closure.

The pub is due to reopen on Wednesday, February 4, after a temporary licence comes into affect.

Mr Joyce said: “I’m being punished for an honest mistake that could have happened to anyone.

“It could only have come at a worst time and that’s during the month of December.

“I’ve still got bills to pay and this has also affected the seven members of staff that I employ as well.

“The whole thing just seems wrong to me and it could have been dealt it with in a better way.”

Richard Townson, Pendle Council’s democratic and legal manager, said: “Under national licensing law an application for an interim authority, or a transfer of the premises licence, has to be made within 28 days of the death.

“If an application isn’t made, the licence lapses and the pub, or other premises concerned, cannot sell alcohol until a new one is granted.

“Unfortunately there is no way around this. This is not a case of us being difficult, we can’t turn a blind eye to selling alcohol without a licence.”

“We fully appreciate that this has put Mr Joyce, as the designated premises supervisor, in a difficult position.”