Hosts face long trip to pick up beer

A number of licensees in the south-west are having to travel further to pick up beer deliveries.

It came after distribution giant KN Drinks Logistics stopped holding stock at its Avonmouth depot, near Bristol.

James Dawson, Enterprise tenant of the Golden Lion in Magor, south Wales, now faces a 160-mile round trip to collect beer from Thatcham in Berkshire.

"If we have a particularly busy weekend and we can't replenish stocks, and we don't have enough to last until the dray comes the next weekend, I now have to do a 160-mile round trip. It's a massive imposition."

A spokeswoman from KN Drinks Logistics, part of the Kuehne + Nagel group, said that for the "small minority" of customers that collect directly from Avonmouth, KN and partner Heineken would find an "effective solution over the coming weeks, which will enable customers to continue to occasionally collect stock from Avonmouth".

She apologised for "any inconvenience caused".

The spokeswoman said KN "conducts regular reviews of its drinks distribution network."