Pub introduces £1 charge for phone noises

A Kent landlord has introduced a £1 fine for mobile phone users every time their phone emits a sound as part of its ‘digital detox’.

Mark Robson, landlord of The Just Reproach, has said he introduced the fine to get his customers talking again. Proceeds from the fine are to be donated to charities including a local hospice, Breast Cancer Now and British Heart Foundation.

Robson said: ‘When we set up the micropub there were only three in Kent, the whole point of the buildings is for people to interact. You always find that telephone conversations and mobile phones get in the way of that.

The landlord said that customers have been “very generous” so far, adding: “I think because it’s for the hospice. Everyone seems to identify with that in some way, so people are happy to give.”

The pub has previously donated £20,000 to a number of charities for the past six years.