THE founder of Bournemouth hospitality group Wonky Table urged MPs to use the most up to date data to ensure BCP is in tier one of coronavirus restrictions.

The conurbation anxiously waits to find out which of the three tiers set out by the government it will be in as national lockdown ends.

And Wonky Table founder Andy Lennox said it would be a “disaster” if BCP wasn’t in tier one.

Mr Lennox told the Daily Echo: “If we are not in tier one it will be a disaster.

“A lot of us will have to consider if it’s better to remain closed.

“I have people in tier two, it is effectively closure. You can’t go to any restaurant or bar unless you are in your bubble. You can’t go for Christmas drinks.

“The community needs to understand we have to stay in tier one which means following the rules.

“Tier one is not brilliant, but it is a better place to be.

“If people of BCP want to have a Christmas, then we need to be in tier one.”

Mr Lennox said if the most up to date data for coronavirus cases is used then BCP will be in tier one.

“We are pressuring MPs to ensure it is the case that the most up to date data is used.

“Now we are just over 150 cases (per 100,000 people). If we use the most up to date data it is tier one.”

Meanwhile, chief executive of Brewhouse & Kitchen Kris Gumbrell, said pubs that weren’t food driven would struggle significantly if the conurbation was in tier two.

Mr Gumbrell, who wrote to MP Tobias Ellwood calling for support for the hospitality sector, said: “I had seven pubs in the old tier two and one in tier three which was impossible.

“Everything else can open, hospitality has taken the blame.

“Tier two is not the tier two we had before, if we go into tier two it is going to be very difficult.

“My gut feeling is we’ll be tier two, they need to look at the broader picture.

“I feel for pubs that don’t do food, they can’t function in tier two, what’s going to happen to them?”

In tier two, alcohol can only be served with a substantial meal and people can only socialise with people they live with.

In tier one, people can socialise in groups of six outdoors.

The owner of Urban Guild, which runs Urban Reef, Urban Beach and Urban Gardens in Bournemouth, Mark Cribb, said being in tier one or two makes a big difference.

Mr Cribb said: “Chatting to peers in the industry it could make 40 per cent difference, it is significant.

“I hope we will be in tier one, looking at the numbers, the infection rate is dropping.

“We are much more optimistic about our survival than we were in March.

“We feel very much part of the community, there has been a lot of community support.

“We feel like we should open for Christmas to give something back to the community.”