A landlady of a beloved local pub who previously revealed that she and her team are struggling to stay open has said that she is still suffering. 

Zoe Matthews, 55, who owns the Six Bells in Burghfield with her business partner Debbie Rumblow says that it is a weekly task to keep their heads above water. 

"We struggle every week to be honest with you," Ms Matthews said. "We're a village pub and there's another pub directly opposite us. 

"We are two different entities completely. They do Indian takeaways and we're basically just a straight-up boozer, and we always traditionally have been"

When asked how the situation is a month on from her previous worries, Ms Matthews said that they had been busy for a couple of weeks but it has now died down again. 

"I think it's because kids have gone back to school, it's difficult to say," Ms Matthews said. "I think the majority of it was people just coming in to be noisy."

Ms Matthews went on to say that as the weather gets colder, things may get a little busier, but she isn't particularly hopeful about this. 

"We have a band on weekends which is proving to be busy. We also have a quiz night on Thursdays which is always quite well attended," she continued. 

"The next couple of weeks will tell a story to be honest as to how we are going to be. I think Starmer announcing that things are going to get harder before they get better definitely doesn't help. This next month will definitely tell."

She said that she thinks that people will start to spend less money on food and drinks as they may feel the need to save. 

Ms Matthews recalled going into town last week for an event in a local bar that she thought would have been rammed with guests, but to her surprise, it wasn't. 

"It's not just us you see," she said. 

Both women took over the pub in February 2021 during the covid pandemic. It had been previously ran by another woman for 27 years before she passed away. 

Ms Matthews said that The Six Bells had always been her local as she has lived in the area for over 30 years. 

After Ms Matthews's husband passed away in 2020, he left her some money which she then partly used to purchase the pub.