Some areas of the city now have just a quarter of the pubs they had 10 years ago, with traditional 'working men's' pubs outside the city centre suffering the biggest blow.

Three pubs in the Plungington area alone have been closed and boarded up since July.

The city once boasted 365 pubs – one for every day of the year – but now there are fewer than half that number.

Cheap supermarket beer, the smoking ban and rising taxes on alcohol have been blamed for the demise of the traditional Preston pub.

One award-winning pub landlord said the situation has become so bad he is planning to quit the industry to become a teacher.

Graham Rowson, whose pub the Plungington Tavern was named Community Pub of the Year by Lancashire Police, said: "There is no profit in it any more. The rents are so high and what you have to pay for the beer and the taxes is so high.

"All we're doing is just making a living and with the hours we work it isn't worth it."

Mr Rowson's pub is one of only three pubs left in the once busy Plungington area – The General Havelock shut its doors six months ago and in the last fortnight, the Tanners Arms stopped serving.

The Eldon remains closed after licensee Lyndsey Arthur lost her licence for selling booze to underage drinkers and in nearby Aqueduct Street the Lime Kiln is boarded up.

Across town in Meadow Street, only two pubs remain on what was once a main drinking route into town, since The Fleece shut eight months ago.

Ronnie Fitzpatrick, chairman of the Licensed Victuallers Association, added: "The smoking ban hasn't helped and a lot of them have been taken over by pub companies.

"The rents are so high and the pubs are too small to make ends meet.

"The pub companies take them on and they want cuts, and they close."

Other traditional pubs such as The Cottage and the Hornby Castle in Brook Street have been converted into student accommodation while several pubs in Fylde Road and Avenham have been boarded up.

Paul Riley, chairman of the West Lancashire branch of the Campaign for Real Ale, said rising taxes on alcohol were also helping push punters out of pubs.

He said: "We think the government is barking up the wrong tree. People can go to supermarkets and pick up cheap drink but we think pubs are the best places for people to drink alcohol because it is a controlled environment."

A spokesman for the British Beer and Pubs Association said: "We are facing a storm of difficulties including the smoking ban, rising costs and a long term decline in sales of beer.

"Beer sales in pubs are at their lowest levels since the 1930s and it is traditional community pubs which are facing the most difficulties."

Nicholas Watson of Preston Chamber of Trade said: "Some pubs are struggling and it has to be a concern if it starts spreading into the city centre.

"It's unfortunate but the reality is, unless pubs can adapt to the market, they will struggle."

Last orders:
General Havelock, Plungington Road – Summer 2007
Tanners Arms, Plungington, – January 2008
Eldon, Eldon Street, fortnight ago (temporary closure due to lost licence)
Lime Kiln, Aqueduct Street – Summer 2007
The Fleece, Meadow Street – Summer 2007
Cricketers, South Meadow Lane, Broadgate – January 2008
Belle Vue, New Hall Lane – January 2008
Royal Oak, Plungington – 2007

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