PUBS and restaurants in the Kingdom are "desperate" to re-open but there are concerns it may not be worth their while if customers are put off by restrictions designed to keep COVID-19 at bay.

A survey of Fife Licensed Trade Association (FLTA) members showed 100 per cent of those who responded want to get back to serving customers and bring in much-needed income as soon as possible.

However, the glass is only half-full as FLTA secretary Jeff Ellis said they'll re-open during a recession and can't be sure of demand: "One of the biggest issues will be customer confidence in the measures that pubs and restaurants are taking," he explained.

"If the public are not comfortable with the relaxation of distancing from two metres to one, it will be reflected in a lack of footfall.

"These businesses are going to be impacted massively by the measures that have to be taken to make the place safe.

"It may be that the pub experience and the craic is weakened so much that people can't be bothered to come in."

He added: "You've also got people who will have got used to sitting at home in front of the TV with their cheap supermarket beer – they don't have issues such as closing times or how to get home.

"There will be others lost to the market, those who aren't comfortable with the safety restrictions and those that decide to spend their money on other things.

"All of that is not positive for viability."

Last month, Mr Ellis warned in the Press that pubs, nightclubs and restaurants would need "intensive care" to get them through lockdown and beyond. One of the biggest issues was social distancing, as the two-metres rule would have seen capacity reduced to the point that many operators felt they wouldn't be able to make enough money to be viable.

While the Scottish Licensed Trade Association hailed the recent decision to relax that rule as a "lifeline" for businesses, Mr Ellis said it won't solve everything.

He said: "It's going to be very difficult. You have to get people in and get money in the till but you have to do it in such a way that you're not going to be locked down again in a month's time because of a flare-up.

"In a pub or restaurant, you're not going to want to wear a mask and, as we've seen in England, it doesn't matter what measures you bring in if people decide it's going to be party time."

On the upside, the FLTA survey suggested confidence in the industry with unanimous support for opening up again as soon as they were allowed, although almost all admitted they would operate reduced hours.

It said hotels "have lost tens of thousands of pounds through cancelled bookings" and restaurants were particularly worried about the future, while a demand was made for the Scottish Government to provide clear guidance on the way forward.

Mr Ellis said: "It's hard to know what to do for the best. As soon as you come out of lockdown you incur fixed costs, such as the staff you've taken out of furlough.

"If it's small premises and the capacity is reduced, are you going to take in enough money to pay them? If it rains all day you're not going to make much from your beer garden.

"Some have already recognised that the revenue is not going to be enough to pay those fixed costs and they'll lose less money if they stay shut."

He added: "The subscriptions for Sky and BT Sport were suspended while they didn't really have anything to show.

"When they kick back in again that will be an issue as televised sport is going to end up more of a cost than a revenue generator.

"Some pubs have to fork out £1,000 a month and now that Amazon have got football games too you can probably add another 50 per cent.

"It's all linked to rateable value but you have to sell a lot of beer to cover subscriptions at that level, and that's before you pay anyone else."