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**Written by Doug Powers

I used this excuse once and the wife didn’t buy it — better luck to these folks once they get home:

While thousands braved the cold to begin their Christmas shopping, seven people in North Yorkshire are praying for better weather after being snowed into a pub for eight days and counting.

Heavy snow showers and strong winds have left the group stuck in the Lion Inn pub in Blakey Ridge, Kirkbymoorside since last Friday, with little chance of an escape.

Drifts of up to 16ft blocked the inn’s doors and windows, with the surrounding roads impassable, and to make matters worse, the stranded seven’s cars are buried under nine foot of snow.

Rescuers found the group after hearing a tapping sound. Those stuck in the pub said they would have tapped more but they only had three kegs.

Climate change experts say the likelihood of blizzards capable of trapping people inside pubs — referred to in some circles as “Irish mining disasters” — will be on the rise due to global warming.

When the weather breaks, rescuers are expected to removed the trapped people, drunkest first, and so on. Sources tell me that so far 150 locals have volunteered to be lowered in to make sure everything’s okay.

**Written by Doug Powers

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