Philip Hammond urged to save Britain’s pubs as figures reveal 2,000 have closed in the past five years

CAMPAIGNERS last night called for Philip Hammond to cut beer tax and help struggling boozers.

They want the Chancellor to knock 1p off a pint in his March budget after new figures showed 2,000 pubs closed between 2011-2016.

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In contrast, the number of cafes, fast food outlets and restaurants have gone up by 6,000 across the country.

Indian, Italian and Chinese are now the most popular types of restaurants across England.

In Leeds, there has been a rise in Spanish restaurants, while American diners are proving to be popular in Bristol.

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The North East had the largest growth in restaurants, with an 18% increase, while London had the greatest drop in bars, pubs and clubs, at -14%.

Prof Jonathan Morris, a historian at the University of Hertfordshire, said TV shows like Friends had contributed to the decline of pubs.

He said: “People socialise during the day or after work rather than evenings now.

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“Places like snooker and bingo halls take a bigger chunk of time, while meeting for coffee doesn’t take long.

“To halt the decline, pubs needs to develop their daytime offer.”

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Brigid Simmonds, Chief Executive of the Pub and Beer Association, said: “These figures show that pubs are still under intense pressure, not least from sky-high taxes, such as beer duty and business rates.

“I hope Sun readers will join calls for a cut in beer tax in the Budget on 8th March.”