VILLAGE life would be 'devastated' if an Altham country pub is allowed to close, it has been warned.
Chain Mercury Inns, which runs 10 pubs and a number of freeholds including the Walton Arms, is currently having its finances overhauled by administrators BDO Stoy Hayward, following a Royal Courts of Justice decision.
And the Burnley Road pub, which is the only pub left in Altham village, is in the hands of Mercury's distress recovery subsidiary Mercury Liquid Ltd.
But Garry Taylor, who is preparing for his 13th Christmas behind the bar with partner Karen Davies, insisted it is ?business as usual?.
Garry said: "The two of us are still here; nothing will be affected and we'll just carry on. Nobody needs to worry about their Christmas bookings. It's still very busy at lunchtimes and it's no different to any other Christmas we have had."
The pub is a focal point of the village and has won several awards for the quality of its ales and meals, scooping the Observer's Best Pub Food gong.
Parish council chair Rennie Pinder said: "It would be very devastating for the village if it was to close because the Walton Arms is the place to be. It would be bad news for the business park across the road as I know they use the pub on a regular basis, and bad for the village completely."
He added: "I just hope they see sense and keep it open. If there is an establishment still making money it would be very foolish to close it down. What we wouldn't want to see is the Walton Arms boarded up and left for any length of time."
It is believed that the site dates back to at least Tudor times when it was on the pilgrimage trail to Whalley Abbey, and at one time it was on the coach route between Yorkshire and Lancashire.
