A tapas bar which the Hull Daily Mail campaigned to save has been allowed to remain open after a court reversed its controversial decision on “no vertical drinking”.

Hull licensing magistrates have decided to remove the condition of seated drinking in Café Bar 1880 – good news for manager Simon Kilby, who has been closing at 8pm at weekends since July to prevent breaches of the condition.

Commenting on the new decision, the Mail said: “It is good that common sense has prevailed among Hull’s licensing justices, and that the Café Bar 1880 can continue to trade.

“That ban on “vertical drinking” was never very sensible. It displayed an absurd, small-town mentality which threatened to make Hull a laughing stock.”

The Mail got behind Café Bar 1880 when it was revealed the venue would lose its drinks licence because it could not guarantee customers would be seated when they consumed their drinks.

Its staff attempted to ensure the regulations were adhered to, but when they failed the licence was revoked, causing uproar among customers and prompting the Mail’s Save Cafe Bar 1880 campaign.

The paper also ran a telephone poll, in which 90 per cent of readers called to say they disagreed with the decision to revoke the Cafe Bar’s licence.

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