DAVE Bright, chairman of Wellington Ex-Services Skittles League, believes it could be another six months before alleys re-open.

“We can’t play skittles until the pubs are back in business,” said Bright. “At the moment it looks as though social distancing is here to stay for some time yet.

“I don’t think many of us realised how devastating this disease was going to be – and how it would affect our lives.”

Division B managed to complete their league programme with Scuppas being the title winners. But Division A, which has more teams, still had eight weeks of fixtures to play. The committee are looking at ways it can complete the season.

Skittles is played by hundreds of players in Wellington and West Somerset. It has been affected by the closure of a number of pubs in recent years but has managed to survive, unlike darts, which has struggled.

“It is difficult to plan for the winter when we don’t know when we can start playing skittles again,” added Bright.