Wetherspoons are banning customers from charging their phones behind the bar

Heading to a ‘Spoons? Then you might want to make sure your mobile is full of juice

Wetherspoon, which opened two new pubs since the start of the financial year and sold six, said on Wednesday that it intends to open between 10 and 15 pubs in the current financial year

Wetherspoons may have won a semi-ironic place in British hearts with its cheap beer and cheap food – but the pub chain has just introduced a ban which is sure to annoy some of its customers.

As of now, pubs belonging to JD Wetherspoon – of which there are nearly 1,000 across the UK – have started to ban staff from charging customer phones behind the bar.

The move that will no doubt please busy bartenders, but customers with depleted smartphone batteries will be frustrated at the move, believed to have been triggered by the risk of legal action for lost or damaged phones, and to lighten the load of bar staff.

“The bar itself is busy and we do not want people’s phones there,” A JD Wetherspoon spokesperson said.

“We also do not want the hassle of phones keep being handed over the bar for charging.

”If people wish to charge their phone in the pub, then that would be up to the discretion of the manager.“

While the decision is likely to upset a fair few punters, pub landlords have welcomed the ban. One, who did not want to be named, said that he already refuses to charge all phones.

“People were asking to charge their phones all day, and all it takes is for our staff to drop the phone and then we are going to get sued.

”We have had people say our charger has broken their phone and they cause a load of trouble.

“People should get used to carrying a phone charger with them because they go mad when they run out of charge.

“I say the world will still be spinning if they cannot answer their phone but we have had people even unplug our fruit machines to charge their phones.”