A Bolton pub owner has voiced his concerns over the government's plans for easing lockdown, saying many in the industry are "dying on their feet".

Craig Egan, who co-own the Nook & Cranny in Bromley Cross, said it would be better to "play it safe" and reopen pubs fully when it is safe to do so, rather than only opening for outdoor service.

Reports are suggesting that the government may announced that pubs and restaurants could open as soon as April, only being allowed to serve outdoors.

The Nook & Cranny built an outdoor area in front of its establishment during the summer last year to help it comply with lockdown restrictions, but believes reverting back to this will not be ideal.

Craig said: "It could be complete pandemonium if it's just outdoor service, I think it would be better just to play it safe and wait until you can open it all at once.

"We just want to open again with no restrictions and bring some normality back otherwise there's just confusion.

"The government needs to learn from the mistakes and experiences of the first lockdown. We really want this to be the last lockdown.

"I'd like to think they'd give us at least a month to prepare, from the perspective of brewing there's a lot of catching up to do.

"We need to be given an exact date to work towards, it we are told it could be April, but it ends up being longer, that is horrible for us.

"A pub with restrictions isn't a proper pub, with a community pub like ours its all about chatting to people and being friendly but when you have to tell people to follow certain rules like wearing a mask or sitting down it's not nice.

"I'd rather wait until the time is right and we can open without restrictions and bring some normality back to people's lives.

"It wouldn't be fair on those without beer gardens too.

"We're haemorrhaging money at the moment and so many places are dying on their feet so hopefully this can be a light at the end of the tunnel."