Pubs once to be found in almost every village and on many street corners in towns, are closing all the time.

Now the Campaign for Real Ale is launching National Pub Week in a bid to save the humble local.

Camra will have its work cut out to keep traditional pubs, as youngsters prefer fashionable bars and older people are put off by the high prices.

It may hurt real ale enthusiasts to say so but these days it's often the food rather than the ale that keeps many country pubs going.

The message to publicans is that most of them have to diversify if they have any chance of survival in a world where it's far cheaper to drink at home.

And the message to people who feel pubs should be at the centre of a community, urban or rural, is they must use them or lose them.