A Cumbrian hotel owner has issued a desperate plea amid "unprecedented levels of panic" in the wake of the worsening coronavirus situation.

Jamie Shail, owner of Rothay Manor in Ambleside has said the business "needs help now" after the Prime Minister announced measures yesterday which Mr Shail said "effectively decimated the UK's hospitality sector."

He said he was "really concerned about the lack of tangible action being undertaken by the government" to support small businesses in light of the coronavirus outbreak.

Last week Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a £12bn package of support for businesses affected by coronavirus, and is expected to announce further measures in the coming days.

But Mr Shail was not comforted by Mr Sunak's package of measures, and called on the Government to do more to support the hospitality sector - likely to be one of the worst affected sectors in the UK by the coronavirus outbreak.

"Nationally, the hospitality sector employs some 3.2 million people and in Cumbria it contributes just under £3bn to the region’s economy, employs 37,796 full time equivalent posts," he said.

"But given that many tourism jobs are actually part time, or seasonal, the total number of people employed in the sector is estimated to be nearer 64,992, about 20 per cent of the county’s total employment.

"Yes, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a raft of interim measures designed to help the hospitality sector but in reality, thousands of businesses in the sector simply won’t benefit or even be eligible.

"Last night the Prime Minister effectively decimated the UK’s hospitality sector advised people to make some significant behavioural changes, avoid pubs, clubs, restaurants, cinemas and theatres, though they stopped short of ordering those businesses to close.

"He said he hoped these venues would take a responsible approach. But that statement does nothing other than leave us all in a strange limbo, which could last for weeks or months."

Mr Shail addressed several measures introduced by the Government designed to alleviate pressure put on businesses in light of the outbreak - all of which failed to calm his concerns.

"Yes, companies with a rateable value of less than £51,000 will be eligible for a tax holiday, as outlined in last week’s budget but what about the rest of us whose business rates are way larger than that?

"Scaling up of HMRC's 'Time to Pay' service, including a new helpline so businesses and the self-employed can arrange to defer tax payments is welcome too, as is the fact that businesses with fewer than 250 employees can reclaim the cost of providing Statutory Sick Pay to employees off work due to the Coronavirus.

"The reality is very different for the sector, we rely on visitors staying and guests dining - without them basically visitor attractions, cafes, hotels and restaurants have no business.

"Without a backstop we can’t operate, especially when we don’t know how long potentially this might last for."

Mr Shail also raised concerns surrounding insurance cover in light of the outbreak.

"Many insurance companies simply don’t cover businesses that are affected by Covid-19, primarily because the virus wasn’t declared as a notifiable disease in the UK until earlier this month," he said.

"Insurance companies have confirmed that they will only cover diseases already specified in insurance contracts, neatly side stepping the elephant in the room and leaving many businesses with no recourse.

"It’s great that a new temporary Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, delivered by the British Business Bank, will launch in a matter of weeks to support businesses to access bank lending and overdrafts but how on earth will these loans be repaid, even with a Government guarantee to lenders of 80 per cent on each loan many businesses will simply be unable to operate with additional levels of debt."

He stressed the extent to which rural areas across the country rely on the income generated by tourism.

"We are about to be doubly decimated having lost 15 per cent of our total visitor numbers who are from overseas and it would seem we may well lose our staycation market too if movement restrictions are imposed for who knows how long.

"Currently there seems to be scant communication from the powers that be about what they are doing to protect one of the largest employment sectors in the region?"

Mr Shail said he felt he was facing a "very stark reality", and was desperate to hear answers to his concerns.

"This might appear selfish but I’m thinking of the longer term future of my business, the future for my dedicated team of staff and their families and the suppliers we work with, who too no doubt are wondering how we are all going to get through this.

"We may well be forced to shut our doors as the authorities seek to limit the spread of the virus, and we will all have to see what happens next but I for one would like it to be on a level playing field for businesses of all sizes across the country."

Mr Shail suggested a temporary relaxation of the Pay As You Earn rules for businesses, to "allow businesses to continue to pay their staff something rather than be forced to lay them off after a period of time because we can’t meet our tax and national insurance obligations."

He added that short-term subsidies from the Government and the suspension of business rates for hospitality businesses were also needed immediately.

"I would like to see the immediate suspension of business rates payments for all hospitality businesses until this time next year," he said.

"I would like the Government to provide businesses with short-term subsidies to cover staff wages where trade falls markedly or ceases completely due to enforced closure.

"I firmly believe, as I explained to the bank today, that delaying loan repayments or anything of that ilk may look like it’s helping but in reality, all it does is move the problem to a date further down the line.

"The impact of this situation simply isn’t going to go away.

"Ultimately if we are stopped from trading and have to resort to taking out loans to see us through many hospitality businesses will never recover.

"They will perpetually be financing the loans taken out to survive Coronavirus and certainly won’t be in a position to recoup the lost revenue or for that matter trade in the winter months.

"Without some real support, the hospitality industry is going to fare very badly in the medium to long term, with many of its small hotels suffering adversely and ultimately closing."