Council plan to save village pubs

Council leaders said village pubs were vital for their local communities

Grants are being offered to try to prevent village pubs in Herefordshire from closing down.

Pubs group Punch Taverns announced in November it wanted to sell 500 pubs across the UK.

The group owns 20 pubs across Herefordshire. Council leaders said they would do whatever they could to save the bars.

Licensees could be offered the chance to buy the pubs themselves and council grants could be available to help them.

Anthony Bush, Herefordshire Council's parish liaison and rural services officer, said local pubs were often "an essential part of the fabric of the community, especially in rural and remote areas".

He added the council was getting in touch with licensees to see if they had been offered the chance to buy the pub and to let them know of the support available to them.