East Lancashire pub, The Three Fishes, is showing support to Ukraine by banning Russian spirits from the bar.

The Mitton pub, which is owned by Nigel Haworth, made the announcement today (11 March).

In an Instagram post, they said: “We wanted to share the steps we have taken to show our support for Ukraine during this incomprehensible time.

“All Russian spirits have been removed from our bar.

“You can now make a charitable donation on your bill and 100 per cent will be given to charities supporting the humanitarian operations in Ukraine.”

Lancashire Telegraph: The Three Fishes pub in Mitton ban Russian spirits from their bar (Instagram/@thethreefishesmitton)The Three Fishes pub in Mitton ban Russian spirits from their bar (Instagram/@thethreefishesmitton)

A spokesperson for the pub said they made the decision after hearing about the “tumultuous time” their head barman, Peter Binkiewicz, was having.

He has loved ones in Poland and “family history deep rooted in Ukraine”.

The spokesperson said: “This has understandably been quite a tumultuous time for him and his family.

“We are doing whatever we can behind closed doors to support all our team members who are directly impacted by the crisis in Ukraine and following a team meeting, we decided to take action.

“As a collective we have gathered old clothing and bedding to be donated, including those of us who have young children with clothes they have grown out of.

“However, we wanted to do more. We have removed Russian spirits from our bar and we will not be buying in or stocking any Russian spirits moving forward.

"As default, we will be adding an optional minimum £1 charity donation to all guest bills, the guest can of course choose to remove this or donate up to any amount they desire in £1 increments.

“We are proud to be starting the journey towards supporting a cause that needs every ounce of help available and small steps, in our eyes, are better than none.

“As a new business, we hoped by sharing our initial actions, we will encourage other local businesses to follow suit and do whatever they can to aid Ukraine when support is of paramount importance.”