PUB bosses say they fear that the new lockdown restrictions which forced them to call last orders will result in a spike in house parties locally.

A host of local bars have had to close until October 25, with some repurposing to offer takeaway food in a bid to keep cash coming in. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has now extended the closure to November 2.

However, the latest government decision has been widely criticised by local landlords after they spent heavily to make their premises Covid-19 safe.

Stewart Grant, owner of The Three Reasons and The George, said the impact could see takings down by 70 per cent.

He added: "We have spent a lot of money putting precautions in place and this is a real body blow.

"The government are trying to limit gatherings but this is going to see people getting together in houses.

"Our turnover could drop to 30 per cent, and that is only because we are offering take-away food and pre-packed food for meals just to keep something coming in."

Stephen McDonald, owner of Room restaurant, said: "The announcement was much more dramatic than we expected.

"I understand it is supposed to be a short sharp shock but I think it will result in a lot more unsupervised drinking indoors.

"It is a real shame that Largs is having to suffer the consequences because other towns and districts have behaved badly, as the Covid cases locally have been comparatively low.

"I can't give an exact figure on how much money we will lose through the closure but it will run into thousands of pounds."

Mr McDonald says that the new measures should have separated bars and restaurants.

He said: "Keeping bars open could lead to flashpoints but we have maintained social distancing throughout Room, and have plenty of space, so it is very disappointing."

Room, which is offering a takeaway service during the 16 day closure, has spent £2,000 on Covid prevention measures such as hand sanitising stations.

Fairlie's Village Inn owner Brian Flannigan was also disappointed by the decision.

He added: "It's not good, but we have to do what is right for the village and the public.

"The sector needs government help to offset the loss in takings, the staff wages and the inevitable bills which are going to have to be paid.

"By August last year we had our Christmas Day sittings sold out. So far we haven't started selling any tables as we simply don't know what is going to happen.

"I couldn't put a figure on how much we are going to lose, but it will be substantial amount of money." Kenny Blair, owner of Scotts restaurant at Largs Yacht Haven said: "What they’re doing to hospitality is driving people into house parties where’s there’s none of the measures that we have.

"There’s no test and protect no track and trace, there’s no cleaning, there’s no segregation, there are no face masks."

Mr Blair, who owns 12 venues in the west of Scotland, says the group has served over 300,000 customers but has only had two confirmed cases of the virus within its venues across that period.

He said in both instances public health officials told him there had been no onward transmissions.

He added: "We don’t think we’re part of the problem, we think we’re part of the solution.

"It’s been a massive loss of revenue, over a million pounds this year."