Coronavirus: Lockdowns 'affecting customer confidence'

A rise in coronavirus cases and local lockdowns is making it difficult for businesses to stay open, a pub landlord has said.

On Thursday evening, Rhondda Cynon Taf will become the second area in Wales to be placed into local lockdown, following Caerphilly.

Cerys Furlong, who owns two pubs and a restaurant in Cardiff, said lockdowns in other parts of Wales were affecting customer confidence.

"We were really confident we could open safely and welcome back customers, at a limited capacity," she said,

"But as the rules tighten around us as an industry, it's becoming more and more difficult for us to sustain that."

She called for a replacement to the Treasury's furlong scheme, which is due to come to an end on 31 October.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has repeatedly ruled out extending the scheme, which had paid the wages of those unable to work during the pandemic.