PUB landlord Ian Brain has gathered a six-page petition to hand to Wiltshire Council in support of a memorial bench located outside his pub after several complaints were made by his neighbours.

Mr Brain, who owns the Royal Oak pub on High Street in Corsham, said he has received numerous criticisms from people regarding the bench and how it is encourages his punters to gather on it late at night.

However, Mr Brain, who has been the landlord of the pub for the last three years, said his intention of installing the bench was for the greater good of Corsham.

“The bench makes the High Street nice and it is a benefit to the town as it is not just my customers who use it but people walking by,” said Mr Brain.

“When I came in and bought the pub a few years ago I was new to the trade and there were problems at first. Once I managed to get my foot under the table I have sorted all the bad behaviour out.”

Mr Brain has also employed night time security staff, which he believes, further deters any nuisance behaviour from his customers.

The bench, which was made by one of his customers, has been named the Friends of the Oak and will soon be engraved with the names of Corsham soldiers who fought in the war.

“What I have done is for the benefit of Corsham and I am not encouraging people to sit on the bench and drink, it is merely a resting point for people. I sit and have my morning coffee on it every morning and watching the world go by,” he added.

“It’s nice for people who do their shopping, particularly the elderly who sit and have a rest on their way through. When the bench was built, I made sure it was made to keep in line with the buildings in the town.”

Mr Brain said he had obeyed a previous request to remove the bench two years ago but after dealing with late-night drunks, he decided to reinstate the oak bench.

“My neighbours have said people sit on it in the evenings and make loud noise," he said.

“Because we are on the High Street, they have their windows facing the road so it isn’t people on the bench making that much noise,” Mr Brain said.

“Wiltshire Council hasn’t told me to take it away yet but we are ready with our petition when they do. There are benches all the way up the High Street but it is just this one that the neighbours about the pub do not like and complain about.”

A Wiltshire Council spokesman said that they have not yet received any formal complaint about the bench, however, in the instance where one is made, then they will treat it as any other noise complaint and a full investigation will be carried out.