THE January blues are set to banished from three of south Cumbria’s most popular pubs - as punters are invited to tell staff a joke and get a whopping discount off their bill.

The ‘Make us Laugh’ campaign has been launched at The Sun in Ulverston, The Commodore in Grange and the Black Cock in Broughton.

Anyone who calls in for a bite to eat and shares a side-splitter with staff will have 25 per cent taken off their food bill.

The initiative comes ahead of the month where the depressingly titled Blue Monday falls, and the reality of festive excess kicks in.

Kirsty Mackenzie, managing director, said: “For the whole month we will give the discount to anyone who tells us a joke and manages to get a member of our restaurant team to crack a smile.”

The ‘Make us Laugh’ promotion runs until January 31 at The Sun, The Commodore and the Black Cock in Broughton.