Figures from the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) found 300 independent pubs closed between September and March: that's 12 pubs a week, a big deal in rural areas where it can be quite a trek to the next nearest watering hole. It's the rural and suburban areas which have been hit particularly hard - a threat to the social life of these small communities.

Pubs have been hit with a double whammy recently - a double dip recession and an extra burden of a 42 per cent jump in beer tax since 2008.

There has been a resulting  6 per cent fall in beer sales in the first quarter of 2012, according to the BBPA, though the decline has become less steep this year than in the previous four. It's still a worrying trend, as more than a million jobs depend on the UK beer and pub sector. Pub closure is part of a long term trend: here's a chart showing pub decline between 2006 and 2010, from BBPA: