A BREWERY group which operates a popular Bolton-le-Sands pub has gone into administration.

Insolvency specialists Duff & Phelps were this week called in to Mitchell’s of Lancaster (Brewers) Ltd, which operates the Royal Hotel and nine other establishments across Lancashire,

The group, which began trading back in 1871, formerly ran a number of other pubs in the South Lakes area.

It us understood that upon the administrators' appointment, 14 staff were made redundant at the Lancaster head office, but all the pubs are continuing to trade while Duff & Phelps seeks a buyer.

"The UK pub sector has suffered sustained adversity over the last decade, with the latest ONS statistics showing that nearly a quarter of pubs have closed since 2008, with the majority of these closures being small pubs," said Steve Muncaster of Duff and Phelps.

"This troubled landscape coupled with rising business rates, increased minimum wage, and the continued uncertainty surrounding Brexit has created difficult conditions for pubs across the UK.

"As such, the owners were left with no alternative but to put the company into administration."