Sitting Goose pub in Preston hit by blackout threat

A tankful of tropical fish are facing a watery grave if the power is turned off at the Sitting Goose in Lea near Preston.

Rob says he has been cast him adrift hook, line and sinker by "cheapskates" Electricity North West who plan to switch off the pub for eight hours, but are refusing to provide him with an emergency generator to keep his business - and his fish - alive.

"The beer will go warm and the fish tank will go cold if we're turned off for that length of time," he said.

"I'll have no chillers, so we won't be able to serve ale and we'll have to close for the day.

"The fish, which are loved by our customers, will almost certainly die because their water has be kept at a constant 25 degrees with heaters, pumps and lights. They take a lot of looking after.

"I feel we've been abandoned by Electricity North West. We're going to lose hundreds of pounds in takings and the company is refusing to help. They say getting an alternative electricity supply is our responsibility."

Rob is now on the lookout for a generator to keep the power flowing and keep Hooter, a long nose butterfly fish, and his tankmates swimming happily.

He says he was informed by letter that ENW will be shutting down the supply on September 1 at 9am and restoring it by 5pm. Around a dozen properties in the area of Lea Lane will be affected, although most are houses.

The pub, he says, will be forced to close for the evening as well because his three beer chillers take around four hours to return to their required temperature.

"We can cope without lights, but it means the fridges and freezer will be off all day, so goodness knows what effect that will have on what is in them," he added.

"I phoned Electricity North West and the person I spoke to just dismissed my complaint saying 'it's your responsibility.'

"They said they have to put some new equipment into the system and that's why the supply had to be switched off.

"But surely they can't just do that when I've got a business to run. They should be providing a generator for the day instead of telling me its down to us.

"I don't think I should be paying to keep my business running when it's not my fault."

If the fish die it will be the second time in just over a year that an electricity outage has killed off the inhabitants of the pub's display tank.

"We had a power cut last year and it was off for about four and a half hours," explained Rob. "The fish got white spot and died.

"We lost a few hundred pounds worth of fish that day. So we certainly don't want that to happen to Hooter and his mates."

Electricity North West has been contacted for a response.