Drinkers raise a pint to Joe Lycett's £100 bar tab

The bell behind the bar rang just three hours after the pub opened, but instead of calling for last orders, it was the signal for the dozens of people queuing to come and claim their free pint.

They snaked through the tight corridors of the Hallamshire House in Sheffield early evening on Friday for a slice of comedian Joe Lycett's £100 bar tab.

It was one of 30 pubs around the UK chosen by the Traitors star the previous week on his Channel 4 show Live from the Lycett Arms, when he told viewers: "Go and give them some love."

Doug Simpson, general manger of the Hallamshire House, said: "If Joe Lycett turns up at the pub tonight, he will not be paying. I will be paying for him personally."

He also said Thornbridge Brewery, which operates the pub, had added a further £100 tab for drinkers.

Waiting at the bar were three friends who had just come from studying medicine in the university library.

One of the group, Ruby, said: "We were just watching the Traitors and went on Instagram and it was there.

"We were like, we need to go, we were so excited. We made a plan to get here like 10 minutes early."

Behind them was Amelia, a student at the University of Sheffield.

She said: "The Hallamshire House is our local and we go to the pub quiz every Monday and they announced they were having free drinks on Joe Lycett, so why not.

"You can't complain about a free pint and support local pubs, there's nowt better."

Other punters passed around a sign which read: "Joe Lycett bought me a drink at the Hallamshire House! Cheers!"

Simpson said he was "personally a big fan" of Lycett and that the comedian was asking for people to send in pictures of their favourite pubs for a chance to be featured on his show.

He applied and was later told by friends that the Hallamshire House had been given a shout-out.

"It's a really special thing to do," Simpson added.

"It's not any secret to anyone. The hospitality industry is not having the best time at the moment.

"A lot of pubs around the country are closing every week, which is really sad to see because I do believe we are a really special community space and it's not just about the booze that we sell.

"We are safe places for people to come to. People come to get away from their problems. UK pubs are just such a big part of society."

Cam, who works in hospitality, said he was on a pub crawl with his friend Rory and had come to the Hallamshire House without knowing about the tab.

He said: "It was a stop and I saw a sign saying 'What a good way to start the weekend.'

"I thought that meant there were no beers on and it actually meant that there were free beers."

Both said they would now "100%" go for a pint with Lycett.

Cam added: "I considered him to be like a mum comedian, my mum likes him, but I think my opinion has changed today."

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