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 and this has contributed to the decision made."

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

In contrast, other popular hospitality businesses in the county report a strong show of support from the community.

One Weymouth pub and restaurant owner has spoken in support of the Tier 3 rules - despite challenging times for the hospitality trade.

Dorset Echo:

Victor Szkolski, owner of the John Gregory pub at Southill and the Kings Arm's pub on Weymouth harbourside, said: "As much as I'm annoyed about having to keep opening and closing, I strongly believe we have to do everything we possibly can to support the Government - even thought it's affecting us really badly - we're on our knees. Every time we open and close we're losing a lot of money - but there's plenty of people in worse situations than us.

"I'm upset and sad about the situation but with vaccinations offering hope around the corner we can't afford to risk any more lives.

"In terms of our business we really do suffer but it is what it is. We have a great community behind us - when we reopened in December so many people came in and stayed for dinner, despite not having much money for themselves - we're very lucky.

"Together we're strong - every single time we go down, we have people who come in and say 'we support you'"

Mr Szkolski said the businesses won't be offering takeaway during the current lockdown.

"Logistically we weren't ready for this," he added. "We don't like to compromise our standards - some places are geared up for it - it's very difficult if you don't have experience of doing take away."

Barry Whettingsteel, who, along with partner Emma is owner of The Crow's Nest restaurant and Secret Garden Cafe in Weymouth's Hope Square, said: "I don't understand the logic of pubs and restaurants being forced to shut, while you can still get your hair and nails done at the salon.

"Being in Tier 3 is no big loss to the Crow's Nest as we had already decided to close until spring or hit Tier 1 - whichever comes sooner.

Dorset Echo:

"It's a bit of a kick in the teeth to the Secret Garden however, as we were just gearing up to reopen for the New Year. Instead we're adapting to take outs and deliveries.

"Personally, I'd rather we were just all put in full lockdown for a month so we can get the rate of transmission back down while they roll out the vaccine."