Stroud punters are spending far less in pubs and restaurants than pre-pandemic, according to analysis by banking firm Revolut.

Twice as much money was spent in pubs after May 17 compared to the month before, but this is still 39 per cent less than Stroud residents were spending in pubs in February 2020.

Spending in restaurants paints a similar picture with Stroud residents shelling out 36 per cent less than the pre-pandemic baseline, according to Revolut’s analysis of 4000 customers.

Sector leaders including the British Beer and Pub Association, UK Hospitality and the Campaign for Real Ale say they are “bitterly disappointed” by the delay to lockdown easing, which they estimate will cost pubs £400 million.

A joint spokesman said: “Our sector is facing one of its toughest periods in its history and this latest delay is yet another setback.

“Many pubs cannot break even under current restrictions and around 2,300 still remain closed “It is now absolutely critical that the Government provides our sector with further support – else the recovery of our pubs will be over before they’ve even been given a chance.”

Hospitality and pub industry leaders have written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson demanding support for their sector.

Announcing the delay to lockdown easing, Boris Johnson said: “It’s unmistakably clear that vaccines are working, and the sheer scale of the vaccine roll-out has made our position incomparably better than in previous waves.

“But now is the time to ease off the accelerator because by being cautious now we have the chance in the next four weeks to save many thousands of lives by vaccinating millions more people.”

Experts feared going ahead with step four of the roadmap out of lockdown could lead to hospital admissions on the scale of the first wave of Covid-19, heaping unsustainable pressure on the health service.

Daily cases of coronavirus rose to 11,625 across the UK on Tuesday and there were 69 cases per 100,000 people in Stroud in the seven days ending June 17.