A UK pub landlord is banning fancy dress and festive wear for the Christmas season as part of a drive to keep out groups of rowdy drinkers.
People wearing Christmas jumpers, sexy Santa outfits, elf costumes, Harry Potter outfits and other fancy dress will not be allowed into three Hull-based pubs Lion & Key, WM Hawkes and Walters after 8pm.
Alan Murphy says his regulars prefer ‘a civilised pint’, saying: ‘There is something about dressing up which makes people act differently. These groups are usually on a pub crawl and aren’t really bothered which ones they go into.”
Alan first banned Christmas jumpers and other festive clothing last year and found that, despite a great deal of negative media attention, his decision was a success.
“Last year we actually had the best Christmas ever,” he said. “It was partly due to the publicity we had. We made it into the national newspapers and even on Sky. Many took a negative stance but it still seemed to help us.”