A POPULAR tourist attraction has closed its doors, despite still being allowed to open in new Tier 3 Covid restrictions - as bosses revealed staff had been ‘abused’ by visitors wanting to travel from Tier 4 zones.

The closure of Monkey World comes as hospitality businesses revealed the impact the decision to increase restrictions has had on them, as they were gearing up to welcome customers for New Year.

A spokesman for Monkey World said: “This is not a decision that we have taken lightly, however we have a duty to protect our vulnerable, rescued monkeys and apes as well as the staff who work at the park.

“It has been disappointing to find that the large majority of those who have booked to visit the park within the next week or so are currently under Tier 4 restrictions - and whilst we appreciate that some who have booked to visit have only just been placed in Tier 4, this unfortunately has not been the case for the large majority who, despite being in Tier 4 since December 19 have chosen to ignore the guidelines in place, book, and attempt to visit anyway.

“Sadly the abuse that many of our staff have had to endure when contacting those who have booked from Tier 4 areas has reached a level that we consider to be unacceptable.”

Those who have booked to visit the park between December 31 - January 15 will be contacted in due course.