PUB and restaurant owners in East Renfrewshire fear their businesses will have to remain closed for months as a new lockdown system is introduced.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced that monthly grants of between £2,000 and £3,000 will be available to businesses in the hospitality sector that were forced to shut on October 9.

However, Sandra Kirk, who runs the award-winning Kelburn Bar, in Barrhead, fears the decision to extend the closure until November 2 could be a prelude to further lockdown restrictions.

She told the Barrhead News: “With rent and loans to pay, some businesses are going to struggle to stay open beyond this.

“The money is welcome, of course. It is better than nothing but it’s clearly not enough.

“I think we will survive and no more but it’s clear there are some businesses that won’t recover from this latest lockdown.

“We know of one business that supplied fresh meat to hotels that has recently gone bust.

“I think people assume that pubs like ours make massive profits but that is just a pipe dream.

“It would not surprise me if we are all still closed by December.”

Satnam Chahal, who runs the popular Courtyard restaurant in Rouken Glen Park, Giffnock, says the latest lockdown will leave many eateries with dire financial problems.

He added: “We were hoping to get our restaurant open again on October 26 to try to get back some of the business we had lost.

“Then we were told we couldn’t open for another week, which was a big blow.

“I have had to let some staff go recently, which is a very stressful thing for them at this time.”

Mr Chahal also said restaurant owners are demoralised by the thought of future lockdowns.

“We can’t plan in advance,” he said. “We can’t take any Christmas bookings because we don’t know yet if we will be open at Christmas.

“We are surviving on a week-to-week basis.”

Andy Dunlop, manager of Business Improvement District (BID) organisation All About Barrhead, said it is doing all it can to support local traders.

He added: “We sympathise with businesses which are affected by this latest lockdown. A lot of bars in Barrhead are community hubs where people have been going for years, where they socialise and meet friends.”

Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop said the Scottish Government is “determined” to help businesses as the Covid crisis continues.

She added: “We will continue to work with local authorities to ensure grants are made available quickly and efficiently.”