A LANDLADY who claims the costs of running a pub are spiralling out of control is at the centre of a Government debate.

Irene Nuttall, of the Durham Ox, in Berry Lane, Longridge, has blamed supermarkets, the smoking ban and the cost of showing live football on TV for crippling Lancashire's pub trade.

She claims she is being forced to pay over the odds for her ale as she is has to buy it from one supplier, a problem which she says is experienced by many local pubs.

Now her plight, and that of all publicans, has been raised by Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans in a parliamentary debate.

The former legal secretary, who took over the 300-year-old pub four years ago, said: "I do love doing this job but it is very difficult because after paying all my costs and wages I am left with very little for myself and I’m starting to question whether it's worth it.”

She pays Heineken UK £127 for an 11 gallon barrel of Fosters and £144 for a barrel of John Smith's when they would cost £92 and £88, respectively, from a wholesaler.

Her other bills include £694 a month to show live football on Sky, £1,500 a year for buildings insurance, £400 a month for electricity, £850 a quarter for gas, £443 a month for business rates and £74 a month for council tax.

Mrs Nuttall, who has written to Prime Minister Gordon Brown highlighting the issues facing the pub trade, takes an average of £16,100 a month, but after all her outgoings, she is left with just £1,736 to pay wages for herself and four members of staff.

She has also been forced to push up her prices this week to cover the cost of rises from wholesalers.

She added: “There is going to come a point where people just won’t be able to afford to come to the pub.

“The government need to help pub owners and put a stop to the cheap alcohol being sold in big chains and supermarkets.”

Tory MP Nigel Evans, who serves as vice chair of the All Party Parliamentary Beer Group, said: “The British pub is vital for tourism and for our communities – it is the hub and the heart of so many communities around the country.

“We have seen so much of the fabric of our way of life threatened in recent years – from post offices to village schools – so now is the time to make a stand and help the great British pub.”

Geoff Sutcliffe, chairman of the Licensed Victuallers Association, said: “We are fully supportive of any action to try and reduce the costs we face and to put limits on how cheaply supermarkets sell their drinks.

“The pub trade has been suffering for a long time and something needs to be done.”