THERE won’t be an empty seat in south Essex pubs when the Euro 2020 final kicks off on Sunday, with venues fully booked before the semi-final finished.

Jason Peace, who works at Ye Olde Crown, says the Rayleigh venue started taking bookings for Sunday’s Italy vs England match as soon as The Three Lions beat Denmark on Wednesday.

But by 1pm yesterday, their diary for Sunday was already packed out, leaving the team preparing themselves for another busy evening.

Kelli Billett, the owner of the Castlemayne pub in Basildon, said they were fully booked before the semi-final had even finished.

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She said: “People had actually started booking with us for Sunday at the same time they booked for the game on Wednesday.

“We had 140 in for the semi-final, and there was such a buzz through the venue.

“It was really nice to get more people back through our doors again, and the staff bless them have been well and truly rushed off their feet.

“It is more difficult for them with table service, but they do a cracking job.”

The Bread and Cheese, in Thundersley, already had nearly 300 people waiting on their reserve list yesterday morning.

Owner Steve Haslam, said: “The semi-final was fantastic, there is honestly no atmosphere like it.

“We had a full house, and queues were out the door yesterday morning for Sunday.

“We’re only doing Sunday outside to help try and make service easier, but we’re working on a plan of maybe in our bar area using the tables for the NHS for free.

“Looking forward I think England definitely stand a chance.”

Mr Peace has also seen the pub where he works busy throughout the tournament - with Sunday set to be no exception.

He added: “Obviously with Covid we do have to be careful and follow the guidelines, but everyone is quite relaxed and it’s always such a good atmosphere, so we are excited.”