Fears for the future of traditional pubs deepened today after an award-winning watering hole near Stafford started looking for a new landlord.

The Bell Inn, at Haughton, was a freehouse which regularly won real ale awards and appeared in good beer guides and is one of the latest in the region to be looking for someone to take over at the helm.

But national pub company Enterprise Inns has bought the pub, following the previous landlord’s retirement and is now seeking a tenant to run it.

Real ale campaigners fear it will lose its character and good selection of beers – or even close if a suitable tenant cannot be found.

It follows concerns about a swathe of pubs in the Stafford area being forced to close their doors.

Heart of Staffordshire CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) spokesman Dave Tomkinson said that he believed Enterprise Inns had put in place an interim licensee at The Bell Inn but was now advertising for a permanent tenant.

He said: “It was a shame for the pub and the village when the previous landlord Paul Plant, who ran it for about six years, retired and it ceased to be a freehouse.

“We were concerned because the licensee at a freehouse has more choice about what beers to put on and where they get them from.

“Freehouses are getting few and far between, so it is sad to see another one go.

“But, with the credit crunch biting, it is interesting to note that most of the pubs that are struggling to keep going at the moment – like The Lamb in Stafford, which keeps opening and closing – are owned by pub companies.”

“You don’t get that problem at freehouses because the landlord owns it and, if trade drops off for a while, they can just drop their prices and shop around to get better prices.”

Changes at The Bell follow concerns raised by residents and real ale campaigners over a string of pub closures in the Stafford area.

Mr Tomkinson added: “One of the worst examples of the decline of traditional pubs is The Stafford Arms, which has been demolished to become a car park.”