The rate that pubs are closing has slowed down but last orders were called at more than 2,000 locals last year, with the loss of 24,000 jobs nationwide.

Caught in a squeeze between a consumer spending slump, due to the recession and rising tax bills, big pub companies have been selling off hundreds of their unprofitable hostelries.

While some are snapped up by smaller pub chains, others have been levelled for redevelopment. The latest survey from the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) reveals 2,365 pubs closed in 2009.

By the second half of the year pub closures had slowed to 39 a week from 52 a week in the first six months, but it still meant the closure of 1,103 pubs and the loss of more than 10,000 jobs between July and December.

There are now 52,500 pubs in Britain – well down on the 58,600 pubs operating when the Licensing Act came into force in 2005.

Wolverhampton-based pub and brewing chain Marston’s has closed 400 pubs over the last three years, leaving it with a 2,177-strong estate employing 12,000 people. It has announced plans for 60 bigger new pubs, concentrating on food, over the next three years.

Alistair Darby, managing director of Marston’s Pub Company, which handles the leased and tenanted outlets, said: “We are very pleased to see the closures average coming down.”