Thousands of pubs still waiting for licences

Thousands of pubs are still waiting to receive their premises licences from their local authorities under the new Act.

According to the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) only one in five (22 per cent) of its members have received a licence.

But licensees have been assured by Licensing minister James Purnell they are free to operate without a licence, as long as they can prove they have applied.

A spokesman for the BBPA said: "An awful lot of licences are still to be sent out.

"But we anticipate that local authorities will be getting the majority sent out over the next couple of weeks."

However a spokesman for LACORS, the local authority co-ordinating body, sought to reassure licensees.

"Most licences are not far away from being issued," he said.

"All the trade would have got a letter saying they could operate under their new hours.

"The problem is each application can take up to two hours to do - the process is very long."

One licensee who fell foul of the new system was Helen Wilkinson at the Crown and Anchor in Elstronwick, Hull.

She was shut down by police over the weekend of the new Licensing Act for failing to submit her premises licence application in time.

Ms Wilkinson did not apply for her premises licence until Tuesday November 22 and admitted she had left it late.

"We have had our problems, but I feel victimised because there a lot of people who haven't got a licence. There are a lot of people in the same position as me," she said.

Police have since allowed the pub to re-open under a temporary event notice, while Ms Wilkinson's application is processed.