ANGRY parents and children picketed a community pub which has shut its indoor play area.

The pub plans to turn the former Deep Sea den children's play area into a carvery.

This has infuriated regular users of the pub and restaurant.

The Deep Sea Den, or The Whacky as it is known as by regulars at the Saltdean Tavern, has been a popular venue for families enjoying a drink and a meal for more than seven years.

Thousands of children have also enjoyed birthday parties at the venue.

The area was closed before Christmas - parents were told the play equipment may have been suffering from metal fatigue.

They were under the impression the climbing apparatus was to be fixed or replaced but have now discovered that the area will not re-open.

Marina Pepper, mayor of Telscombe, and a member of Lewes District Council, said: "It's sad. It's the end of an era and another local facility lost.

Mrs Pepper, who has two children, Charlie, seven, and Boudicca, five, added: "We're without a local swimming pool due to the closure of the Ocean Hotel.

"Our community centre has been sold off and is due to close soon with no replacement on the horizon. And now this.

"The Deep Sea Den provided a much-needed community facility. The mother and baby sessions have kept many of us sane over the years. Having somewhere to go and make friends helped keep the baby blues at bay."

The pub was popular with residents along that area of the South Coast because it was easy to reach, with plenty of free parking, an outside area and access to the nearby beach.

Some parents would visit the venue after school on Friday with their children to enjoy a drink while their children played.

Mrs Pepper added: "I feel for local parents now. There is absolutely nowhere else similar to this locally."

Saltdean mum Carole O'Connor welcomed the new carvery restaurant.

She said: "I really think it could work around here but I just can't understand why it's impossible to keep the Deep Sea Den open."

Mrs O'Connor, who has two children - Lucy, eight and Mark, five - added: "It's somewhere to go after school when it's cold and damp outside. I don't know what we will do now."

A spokesman for Mitchells and Butlers, the company which owns the Saltdean Tavern, said: "The reason for the closure is that the tavern was part of the Innkeepers Fayre brand but now is in a pub carvery brand (Mitchells and Butlers) to which the Deep Sea Den does not belong."