VILLAGERS have been left without a vital community facility after two pubs closed near Woodbridge.The closure of the pubs, victims of the economic recession, in Bredfield and Eyke has left both villages without a pub.

VILLAGERS have been left without a vital community facility after two pubs closed near Woodbridge.

The closure of the pubs, victims of the economic recession, in Bredfield and Eyke has left both villages without a pub.

The Castle, Bredfield, closed before Christmas and it appears that all the fixtures and fittings have been stripped from the pub. The prominent sign on top of a post has also gone.

The Elephant and Castle, Eyke, nearly closed in November but the pub managed to hang on until this month.

But the festive season brought no joy to the pub with only �74 taken on New Year's Eve and it has now closed.

Owner Barbara Kirk said: “I am taking less than �500 a month and I can not afford to keep going. It was going to shut in November but I thought I would go through Christmas and see what happened. But on New Year's Eve I got �74.

''The ones that use the pub are sad but probably only 10 people in the village use it regularly.''

In Bredfield the closure of The Castle has left a hole in community life and parish council chairman Andrew Miller said: ''I am very anxious about the future of the pub. It is one of our remaining facilities - we lost the post office and the shop although we have a community shop which is thriving - and it is an asset for the village.”

Is your village facing similar problems? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or send an e-mail to eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk