Hospitality industry sets out how pubs and restaurants could operate safely once they reopen

Restaurants would also need to bring cutlery with customers' food, rather than leave them on tables or allow customers to help themselves.

Tables would also be spaced in the restaurant to meet social distancing guidelines.

Meanwhile, the guidance suggests that "restrictions on customers remaining at the bar after ordering and getting their drink" should be considered.

It also proposed that customers are "discouraged" from returning empty glasses, customers are told to keep a safe distance away from bar staff and they will have to form a socially-distanced queue for orders.

Kate Nicholls, chief executive officer of UKH, said: "UKH is working hard with our members and alongside other industry bodies to develop practical and effective guidelines to enable businesses to begin to reopen safely when the time is right.

"These are draft guidelines that have been shared with governments in England, Scotland and Wales, to help inform their thinking around reopening.

"We hope that the guidelines will help businesses draw up their own plans based on their premises, ensuring that safety is at the forefront of operations when the right time comes to reopen."

Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin previously said he was hoping to start re-opening its pubs and hotels "in or around June".

"Like all companies we are trying to make a plan for the future and are guessing that they may be allowed to reopen in late June, around three months after they closed," a spokesman said.

"However, that is just an estimate and may prove to be entirely incorrect.

"Wetherspoon, like all pub companies, closed its doors when ordered to do so by the government – and will only reopen when it is permitted to do so."

Pub chain Greene King has previously said it wants to open its beer gardens and customers will be able to order from an app.

It comes as new research suggests up to 70 million pints of beer will have to be destroyed from pubs after they were forced to shut due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Much of the beer left in storage in pubs will be spoiled by the time they reopen, the British Beer & Pub Association said.

The trade body said it was heartbreaking to see so much British beer poured away.

“Whilst it is good news that some of the beer can be re-used to help out other sectors affected by Covid-19, such as farming, it is still sad that people are unable to enjoy this beer," chief executive Emma McClarkin said.

“The need to destroy so much beer really shows how much our brewing and pub sectors have been affected by this crisis.

“We believe that pubs should only open when safe to do so, but without additional support now – particularly for those who won’t be able to reopen sooner – many more of our nation’s pubs and the brewers that supply them with beer will struggle to survive closure and beyond."