AN historic town centre pub is to close after its manager decided to pull out just four months after opening.

The White Lion in The Green, Darwen, will close once its current stock of beer runs out after licensee Barbara Greenall decided she had had enough.

Barbara, 44, who has also previously run The Entwistle pub in Darwen, reopened the pub following a small refurbishment on March 7, after it had been shut since January.

But a lack of trade has forced her to move on after just a short time behind the bar. Barbara said: “It just hasn’t worked out. It is just dying.

“England were playing on Thursday night and I had two customers in.

“Once all the beer is gone we are going. We probably have enough to last until Sunday.

“We used to get a lot of passing trade but we do not seem to get it now.

“It is just one of those things.”

Andrew Buchanan, director of pub operations at Thwaites, said: “Matters relating to the tenancy at the White Lion are currently in dispute. No commercial agreement exists between Thwaites and Babs Greenall and it is our intention to sell the pub once these matters have been resolved.”

When Barbara, originally from St Helens, took over the pub in March, she told the Lancashire Telegraph she wanted to make the pub a good live music venue and, eventually start serving food.

The decision to close emerged when disappointed bands that had been booked to play wrote on an online forum that they had been called to say the gig was off.

On the North West Bands website, a member of Accrington rockers Recycled Teenagers wrote: “Had a call from Babs cancelling all gigs. The pub is closing as so many before. RIP White Lion.”

A member of band Crossroads said: “We played there a few weeks ago. Good venue, but up against a lot of competition within a very small area. Sad to see it go.”