A PUB manager has called last orders after giving up the fight against low supermarket alcohol prices and a lack of footfall in Darlington Market Square.

Ann Labourn ran Hogarth’s on Bakerhouse Hill for almost four years and said the venue was once part of a thriving pub circuit in Darlington town centre.

But she called time on her tenancy this week and closed the pub after last orders on Monday night. (November 5) Ms Labourn’s partner George Saint who helped run the pub said that the recession coupled with trying to compete with supermarket alcohol prices and a lack of visitors to the Market Square meant that the pub had been struggling in recent times.

“At one point we were more popular than anywhere else, but it’s just dying,” said Ms Labourn.

“I felt sad when I made the decision, but I feel fine now.

“I’d just like to thank all our loyal customers.”

Mr Saint believes that the pub would fare better in the future if the Market Square was better utilised as a focal point for the town.

“I feel quite angry about it, there is no footfall in the market square,” he said.

“We have a beautiful medieval market square, it is an asset, but do we use it? No we don’t.

“You go in any other market square in Europe and there will be sports going on and all sorts of things every day, but we have nothing apart from the odd little event.”

Mr Saint said that the couple tried hosting events to entice the customers in but had little success.

“We had a very, very good band a couple of Fridays ago and we got about 30 people in; we almost had to drag people in off the streets but there were still not the people around to drag in.” he said.

“It gets to the point where you think how long can you carry on like this.

“You have to make a logical business decision about whether to stay; the emotional one is to stay, the logical one is to go.”