Horn pub in St Albans asking for donations after coronavirus closure

Adrian Bell, 57, owner of The Horn pub and live music venue in St Albans, said he and his business partner James McLaughlin fell into "sheer panic" after the government ordered pubs to shut on March 20.

Mr Bell, who has owned The Horn for 15 years, said he is following Government advice to take out a business loan, but desperately needs money to pay his 20 employees and essential bills.

Mr Bell said: "I have a large family with four children and three grandchildren, and we live in joint houses and I easily worried about the future of the business.

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"How I was going to pay for bills because I had no income coming in. I immediately read all the reports and I was trying to remain positive, but I had no income coming in."

Before, the Covid-19 crisis, Mr Bell said business was running smoothly and the only issue for pubs was rising business rates.

He added: "Before coronavirus even existed, the Horn was strong and stable in terms of support from the local area and we had a regular income.

"We noticed as soon as the public were made aware there was a decrease. If we had sold out tickets for one of our shows, on average, we would expect one or two people to be no-shows.

The Horn Team, (left-right), Luke, James, Hansi and Paul. Photo: The Horn

"As weeks went on, we started to notice an increase on that number to up to around 10. The week before closure it was up to 60 percent of no-shows."

A fundraising page has been set up to help the pub survive until it can reopen.

Since the page launched last Monday (March 23), Mr Bell said he received a lot of positive feedback from the community.

He added: "It has been incredible. We have almost raised £3,500 since Monday.

"We had so many supportive messages, we are just blown away."

To support The Horn, go to: crowdfunder.co.uk/help-the-horn-survive-the-covid-19-crisis