Colin Pearce, chairman of the Bury Licensed Victuallers' Association (LVA), who runs the Greyhound in Ixworth, warned that budget and brewery increases, which had put an extra 20p on a pint, and other price increases – utilities, food, tax, rents and rates to name a few – were all taking their toll on the pub industry.

"People have got less money to spend on a pint. I think everybody is feeling the pinch and I wouldn't be at all surprised if we see a few more pubs round here close. There is not much we can do to stop the pubs from closing," he said.

"Pubs are closing all the time. You have only got to look around. There are two pubs within two miles of me that have been boarded up over the last 12 months – The Oak, in Ixworth Thorpe, and The Rose and Crown, in Stanton.

"I don't know the precise reasons for their closures but I could imagine the pressures and overheads are the main reasons for it.

"Statistically, there are something like four pubs closing nationally every day. We will soon end up with one pub or no pub villages."

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