A PROMINENT East Lancashire landlord has blamed the credit crunch after beer sales plummeted in pubs nationwide.

The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) has said that sales of pints are at their lowest level since the 1930s, with figures 10.6 per cent lower than the same quarter last year.

Geoff Sutcliffe, landlord at the Rising Sun in Brownhill, Blackburn, said pubs in East Lancashire had been hit badly by last year’s smoking ban.

And he added: “I think the credit crunch has cost some pubs trade, although some are doing okay.

“There’s a recession so people are cutting back a bit and you cannot argue when people say they can buy cheaper drinks at the supermarket.

“I think the smoking ban affected us last year and now a lot of people are sat around in the garden drinking instead.”

Bosses at Burnley-based brewery Moorhouse’s, which has six pubs across East Lancashire, Manchester and Bury, have said sales of their beers were bucking the national trend after reporting a 130 per cent growth in recent years.

But earlier this month, Blackburn brewer Thwaites announced a £2.8million fall in profits and reported that its hotel arm was now outperforming its pubs.

Mr Sutcliffe, who is part of the East Lancs Licensed Victuallers’ Association, added: “Our trade at the Rising Sun is down but that’s a general thing because of the smoking ban.

“I think all pubs can do to bring customers in is offer them value for money.

“The days are gone where you just opened your doors - you have got to give the customers exactly what they want.”

The BBPA, which compiles a “beer barometer” four times a year, says 107 million fewer pints were sold in April to June this year compared with the same quarter last year - a fall of 1.2 million pints a day.

Rob Hayward, chief executive of the BBPA, said: “With around one million jobs reliant on the trade, the loss of 1.6 million pints a day is having a serious impact, not just on the sector itself, but on the UK economy as a whole.

“Beer sales in pubs are now at their lowest level since the Great Depression of the 1930s - down seven million pints a day from the height of the market in 1979.”

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