Pubs and restaurants are allowed to reopen after three months with little income due to coronavirus restrictions imposed in March.

We are getting behind our local pubs at The Northern Echo with a Pub of the Week section with everything readers need to know about the wonderful watering holes in our area.

This week, a pub that has plenty of real ales and “canny staff” has been nominated for our new feature, and is also the pub that our nominator will be heading too once it has reopened after the Covid-19 lockdown.

The Half Moon in Northgate, Darlington, was nominated by Northern Echo reader Johnathan Harrison, who said: “This is a real ale pub, with a couple of generic lagers and cider, but it is a proper drinkers’ pub, with no intrusive noise from TV’s, or modern music. It is small, homely, full of character, and characters.

“There is a dart board, and some good ales and whiskies, canny staff and local people.”

The Half Moon, said Mr Harrison, is a real community pub, in a neglected area of out town is a world away from the generic pubs of new. He said: “If you like real ale and somewhere to go for relaxation, or conversation, then the Half Moon is the place to be.”

Half Moon landlord John Anderson said: “It’ very nice being put forward like this, and we’re grateful for all the good things Mr Harrison said about us. At the moment we are still closed because we are quite a small pub, but we are keeping an eye on the situation.”