"IT WAS an exceptional night and great for business."

That is the message from pub landlords who were fully booked with fans eager to watch England take an historic win against Germany in the knock-out stages of Euro 2020.

While spectators celebrated the 2-0 victory after goals from Raheem Sterling and captain Harry Kane in the final 15 minutes of the match, pub landlords celebrated being at full capacity with happy customers after 15 months of restrictions introduced at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Now, publicans are gearing up for a busy weekend as England prepare to take on Ukraine in the quarter-finals in Rome at 8pm on Saturday.

Shaun Honour, landlord at The Waterloo in Weymouth, said: "Tuesday night was exceptional - there was a great atmosphere and everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

"We were fully booked on the night and we are fully booked for the game on Saturday too which is great after being closed for so much of the last year or so. Everybody was here drinking and having a good time.

"It was an exceptional night and great for business."

Landlady at The Royal Oak in Milborne St Andrew, Sarah Fox, said: "It was a great night and lovely seeing everyone so happy and smiley.

"Having the next game at 8pm on Saturday couldn't be better for trade and we are quite booked up already so we had better get some beers ordered!"

Jamie Clark, barman at The Sailors Return on Weymouth Harbour, said: "Spirits were high on Tuesday and we all had a laugh - there wasn't any trouble throughout the game or after.

"The tournament has helped with business especially after the pandemic. We're looking forward to Saturday."

Fans attending the game at Wembley on Tuesday were required to prove a negative test for Covid-19 taken within the previous 48 hours.

Owner of The Royal Oak in Weymouth Joe Swindell was pleased to see tens of thousands of fans at Wembley and hopes that the success of the government's test events will 'trickle down' to his pub.

He said: "Tuesday night was fantastic. Obviously, the result was the result, but for me the best thing was seeing the pub alive again.

"I think it is fantastic that Wembley had 40,000 fans in. These are the test events and we need them - without them there is no hope of the country fully opening up. Those events are done in stricter conditions than we could ever enforce in the pub. Let them be successful and let their success trickle down to us."