TIME CALLED ON 400 MORE PUBS

Rate of closures soars as costs rise

- GRAHAM HISCOTT

OVER 400 pubs closed for good last year in England and Wales as costs kept on rising and more drinkers chose to stay at home.

The closures mean that for the first time there are fewer than 39,000 locals across the two nations.

Government figures show 412 pubs were either demolished or converted for other uses in the last 12 months.

On average, more than 34 pubs a month called last orders for the final time between January and December.

It was the sharpest fall in pub numbers since 2021, when the sector was hit hard by Covid pandemic restrictions and surging energy prices.