Eleven London pubs shutting each week

London pubs were shutting down at the rate of 11 each week over the first half of this year, the latest figures show.

According to a survey published today by the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), there were 281 fewer pubs operating in the capital at the end of June than there were at the start of the year.

The BBPA figures took into account any pubs which opened during the same period, giving a net number which had closed over the first six months of 2008.

And other areas of the south were also hit with a high level of pub closures, with a net rate of eight establishments in the Meridian ITV geographical area having closed for good each week.

Meanwhile, losses were less acute in the Anglian and South West ITV regions, with net weekly closures of four pubs and three pubs respectively.

The release of the figures comes after the BBPA's recent launch of a campaign to protect "the symbol of British life". A joint effort alongside the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA), I'm backing the pub is a drive to force the Government to back down on its promised 8% increase in duty on beer, set to be implemented at the same time that VAT reverts to 17.5%, on 1 January.

Brigid Simmonds, chief executive of the BBPA, said: "These new figures for London show that the loss of pubs in urban Britain is just as big a concern as pub closures in our more rural areas in the south of England.

"And wherever a pub closes, city or country, something precious about local community life is lost."

IMAGE AP Photo/Christof Stache