PUBS in East Lancashire are feeling the strain of a nationwide drop in beer sales.

A number of factors have been blamed for the decline, including the smoking ban and cheap supermarket beer.

Recent figures showed sales of bitter and lager in Britain had dropped £2.3billion since 2006 - £367million a year.

And many pubs in East Lancashire have taken a hit, as sales of beer fell £1million a day.

Others however have said they are working hard to fight the trend and offer customers something different and quality real ales.

Geoff Sutcliffe, secretary of the Blackburn Federation of Licensed Victuallers Association, said a number of factors have contributed to the fall in sales.

Mr Sutcliffe, who is also landlord of the Rising Sun in Whalley New Road, Blackburn, said: “The competition from supermarkets is a big problem, but there’s nothing we can do about that.

“People aren’t going to pay £2 or £3 for a shot when they can get a bottle of spirit for a couple of quid.

“It’s also a social change. Whereas a generation ago, people would go to the pub during the week and have two or three pints, now it’s the kids going out on a Friday or Saturday with a little bit of money and you don’t see them again until the following weekend.”

Dan Hewson, who works behind the bar of the Crown Hotel in Albert Road, Colne, said: “I have worked in a lot of pubs over the years and it looks like pub drinking is steadily on its way out.

“We do okay because we have the food and hotel side.

“Real ales are quite popular now, though, as it is a bit cheaper and offers more of a variety.”

The rising price of drink is a factor, so pubs offering cheaper beer haven’t seen as much of a decline.

Cindy Cleevy, landlady of The Greyhound in Wyresdale Avenue, Accrington, said: “We haven’t noticed a drop really as we are a Samuel Smith’s pub so our beer is very cheap.

“We get quiet in the day but it tends to pick up at night.”

And, according to Emma Harrison, landlady of the Bridge Bier Huis in Bank Parade, Burnley, pubs that offer something different shouldn’t have anything to worry about.

She said: “We’ve not noticed any change recently and I think that is because we offer something different.

“People are always looking for an excuse about why pubs are closing, like the smoking ban or cheaper beer in supermarkets, but the fact is if we sold John Smith’s and Stella like everyone else we would have closed down ages ago.

“A lot of pubs now are doing cask ales, which is the only growth area in the pubs business.”