A POPULAR Stanford-le-Hope club won't be opening its doors when licencing rules are relaxed this weekend – and possibly not for a while longer either.

Though many local venues will be reopening on Saturday, the Welcome Club will not be among them.

Secretary Jim Heale made the announcement to members, saying the club had given 'very careful consideration' to the situation and had decided it is not yet safe.

It is a move that has won support from local people on social media, including local councillor Gary Byrne who commented: "Well done. Putting our town's people above chasing pound notes is very commendable. A tough call but the right one."

The Welcome is the second local venue to delay opening, yesterday (Tuesday, 30 June) the White Lion pub in nearby Fobbing announced it was delaying opening until next week.

Mr Heale said: "After very careful consideration of all the risks involved, the Management Committee have decided that the Club will not be opening for the time being.

"The well being of our staff and members is of paramount importance to us, and we cannot put anyone at risk. We will be closely monitoring the situation, and will look to open at a later date when, and only when it is safe to do so. Thank You for your patience and understanding in this matter."

Pubs and clubs have been given strict guidelines about how they can operate, with a social distancing regulations to be strictly enforced, no live entertainment, table service only and a raft of other rules.