A landlady demoted to a barmaid after failing a Government test on how to run a bar despite running a pub for more than 50 years has decided not to retake her exam.

Daphne Cutten, 73, has spent most of her life ensuring that the Murrell Arms in Barnham, near Bognor, ran smoothly.

She paid bills, organised deliveries, ensured repair work was carried out, hired and fired staff and greeted customers.

Mrs Cutten had been running the pub on a temporary licence since her husband Mervyn died last year, but a change in the law meant she had to sit a 50 question multiple choice exam to prove she was a suitable person to run the pub.

Before 2005 she would have been allowed to continue running the pub under the so-called 'Grandfather Rights', in which spouses automatically take over the pub licence when their partner dies.

This was scrapped two years ago in favour of new licensing laws which force landlords to sit a suitability exam - no matter how long they have been in the job.

But after failing the exam by just ten per cent earlier this year - Mrs Cutten has been forced to become a barmaid and leave the day-to- day running of the pub to her son in law.

The pensioner blasted the rule as "like something from the dark ages" and said she could run her pub with her eyes closed.

She said: "I have been running this pub for so long I do not need some crummy test to prove I can do it. My regulars will tell you that.

"I decided I would not take the test again. I am too old to be doing that sort of thing. It would have been far too much hassle."