TWO PINTS of lager, a packet of crisps... and a white sliced loaf? Two Monmouthshire pubs are helping keep their communities alive by selling groceries over the bar. Tom and Debbie Zsigo, licensees of the Lion Inn at Trellech and the Moon and Sixpence in Tintern, have been selling milk to pub-goers for a number of weeks. And now they're offering bread as well, with more groceries set to follow if there is a demand. The Wye Valley has been hit hard by closures of post offices and village stores, which has left small communities without any shops. The village stores and post offices in both Trellech and Tintern have closed in the last six weeks. Debbie Zsigo said: "It was just recently we started selling milk and then bread. It's something that we're doing for the village. "We started when the post offices shut earlier in the month. It's really only the emergency things at the moment, but we've been asked about cat and dog food and Sunday newspapers. "We never wanted to be a shop. We're not open from nine to five. "But we've lost those services, and until someone else takes over then we'll do it." Tom agreed: "The pub is at the heart of the community, and without the village stores and post office small communities like ours could die. "We don't want to become the local village shop, but, as we feel strongly that there is a need for essential provisions to be available, we decided to offer the local communities this service until somebody with a more adequate facility can open a shop in these neighbourhoods." Ashley Thomas, the independent councillor for Trellech, said: "Anything that helps the pub survive is good for the village, and if they're offering a facility that people in Trellech need, then that's great. "I hope that someone will come along and resurrect the shop, but good luck to them if there's a demand to be met."
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