Pub shut in bitter dispute

Another Staffordshire pub has closed its doors after a bitter dispute between the licensee and a pub company.

The award-winning Crown Inn at Hyde Lea has been locked up all week, leaving disappointed villagers to bemoan the loss of the popular local.

Licensee Wayne Massey today confirmed that the pub will remain closed "for the foreseeable future" but said he was unable to comment further on the issue.

Mr Massey has run the Crown for around four years and boosted its real ale selection, which saw it take a number of awards including a Camra accolade and the title of Central Regions Pub of the Year 2006. But Mr Massey became embroiled in a row with pub company Enterprise Inns Plc - which owns the Crown and leases it back too him - after a downturn in trade last summer.

Speaking to the Express & Star in May, he said that he had fallen into debt with Enterprise Inns after the closure of a nearby road and poor weather led to a drop in takings. But rather than allowing him to repay the money, Mr Massey claimed that the company had done everything in its power to throw him out of the pub.

Mr Massey alleged that the firm employed tactics such as restricting his beer supplies in an effort to get him to leave - despite his intention of paying back the money he owed and trading his way out of the problem.

He claimed that his experience was just one example of "pubco" policies which were contributing to pub closures across the country.

Mr Massey was due to face Enterprise Inns in court over the forfeiture of his lease but with the Crown now closed, it is now unclear whether or not the case will go ahead.

When contacted by the Express & Star, Enterprise Inns refused to comment on the future of the Crown.

Instead, it released a statement which simply said: "Enterprise Inns do not comment on the business relationships they have with their pub retailers."

One regular, who did not want to be named, spoke of his disappointment at the closure of the pub, which was a central part of life in Hyde Lea.

He said: "It's definitely going to be a blow.

"It's quite a meeting point for a lot of people."