First motorway pub in England opens
JD Wetherspoon has opened the first pub at a motorway service station in England on the M40, raising road safety concerns
High Street pub chain JD Wetherspoon has opened the doors of the first motorway service station pub. Located at Beaconsfield services on the M40 in Buckinghamshire, the pub will be open from 4am to 1am seven days a week, raising concern among road safety campaigners.
The Hope and Champion pub will be able to sell alcohol from 9am and is claimed to be ‘the first of many Wetherspoons on the motorway’ by chairman Tim Martin.
Road safety group, Brake, is concerned about the opening, with a spokesmen telling the BBC: “The opening of a pub on the motorway could be of real concern unless safeguards are put in place with strong messages to warn about the dangers of drink-driving.”
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“As it is putting temptation there in front of drivers, it is doubly important the messages are extra clear. Our advice to drivers is if you are driving, don't drink any amount of alcohol.”
The organisation claims one in six deaths on UK roads are down to drink driving. In 2012, 280 people were killed and 1,210 suffered serious injuries in crashes caused by drivers over the drink drive limit.
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