If you’re parched but have been feeling the pinch, you’ll be pleased to know Wetherspoon is to slash prices of pints for one day as part of a national initiative.

The chain is to cut the price of all food and drink by 7.5 per cent for Tax Equality Day at all its pubs – including The Crown Hotel in Biggleswade, Hitchin’s The Angel Vaults Inn, The Three Magnets in Letchworth, The Manor House in Royston and Stevenage’s The Standard Bearer and The Standing Order.

And what it means is the total price of a meal and drinks for an individual will be reduced from, for example, £10 to £9.25 on this special day.

Tax Equality Day is aimed at highlighting the benefit of a VAT reduction in the hospitality industry.

At present all food and drink in pubs is subject to 20 per cent VAT, compared to supermarkets which benefit from a zero VAT rate on all food.

As a result, supermarkets are able to use that saving to sell alcohol at a discounted price – often to the detriment of the local watering hole.

A Wetherspoon spokesman said: “We are proud to support the campaign to reduce the level of VAT within the pub industry.

“Customers coming to our pubs on Thursday, September 13, will find the price of their food and drink is lower than normal.

“We are keen to highlight the amount customers could save if VAT in pubs was lowered permanently.

“A reduction in the level of VAT on a long-term basis will generate growth and create jobs in the important leisure and hospitality sector and help the high street, of which pubs are an integral part.”