Historic watering hole for chop

An historic pub in Rugeley is the latest business in Cannock to suffer after the collapse of the London and Edinburgh Swallow group.

The well-known Yorkshireman Pub on Colton Road will cease trading on Boxing Day with the current licensees being told to leave the pub before January 8.

They have been evicted from the pub after the parent company went into administration in September with £40 million losses.

The company was one of the UK's biggest hotel and pub chains with 7,300 employees across the country working in 146 hotels and 671 pubs.

The Yorkshireman Pub landlords are in negotiations to sell the freehold on the property but this has yet to be confirmed.

The landlord confirmed the pub would shut after Christmas but would not give his name and refused to comment further.

The Roman Way Hotel located on the A5 in Cannock and the Cottage of Content pub in Queen Street, Chasetown have also been threatened after the financial collapse but have not closed.

Administrators Ernst and Young said the company had suffered increasing heavy losses.