A PUB landlord has spoken of his disappointment after being forced to close down this week.

Dale Gregory shut the Lever Bridge, in Darcy Lever, on Tuesday night, just 10 months after taking over the pub.

Mr Gregory, who ran the pub with his daughter Georgia, blames owners Admiral Taverns for a severe downturn in business in recent weeks after they advertised the site as being up for let.

However, the company says it wants to re-open the Lever Bridge and ‘cement the pub as a great community hub’.

Mr Gregory said: “We just can’t afford to keep going anymore.

“We used to take about £1,300 a week, but since Admiral put out that advert saying they were looking for a new licensee people have thought the pub is shut and our takings have dropped. Last week we only took £380.

“Admiral has every right to put the pub up for let, but it has really hurt us. When we came in 10 months ago, people were really interested and really positive about it. We have done a lot to improve the pub since then.

“But now we feel like we have had the rug swept out from under us. Admiral did give us the chance to extend our lease, but the rent would have gone up massively.

“We have never been able to take a wage from here, so we definitely couldn’t afford to pay another £250 a week. We have been left with no choice but to close this week. If we had kept trading then we would have been bankrupt in a few months.

“We have had regulars in this week who have been in tears, and I want them to know why we have had to close.”

Mr Gregory is now hoping to take over the Market Inn, in his hometown of Farnworth.

A spokesperson for Admiral Taverns said: “As the UK’s leading community pub operator we pride ourselves on the longstanding partnerships we build with our licensees to run sustainable pub businesses across the country.

“In the instance of The Lever Bridge near Bolton, after careful consideration we have taken the decision to seek a licensee who shares our vision for the pub and is keen to partner together to cement the pub as a great community hub for the local area.”