THE Fox & Hounds pub in Nursteed, Devizes, has closed as the tenants could not make it pay.

A disappointed Geoff and Laura Adams closed the Wadworth-owned pub on September 30 after ten months.

It was their first venture as pub landlords.

Mr Adams previously was a lorry driver while his American wife had worked in factories.

They had been living in Arkansas in the US before moving to take on the Fox & Hounds.

Mr Adams, 53, said: “We are very upset but we couldn’t keep going and losing the kind of money we were losing. We love the pub and the area and we made some good friends and we are going to be very sad to leave.

“We have sunk every penny into this pub and some more.

“Unfortunately the pub was not turning over enough and we had to close it. People are not coming out to eat and drink like they used to.

“We were starting to get people who hadn’t been to the pub for a long time coming in. It was beginning to turn around but we couldn’t sustain it any longer.

“We managed to keep prices for food very competitive but we needed advertising and it’s not something I had a budget for.

“We tried to keep it as a nice, friendly local pub. It’s not my style to go into the gastro-style business. We had just got a darts team going and that has had to pull out of the league.”

Despite their disappointment, they want to remain in the pub business and are looking for pub manager or relief manager jobs.

Mr Adams said: “We love the pub trade. I think we make good landlords.

“We have learned a lot in the ten months we have been at the Fox & Hounds and we will carry that forward to another pub.”

Shawn Scott, of Sleight, was a regular at the pub and captain of the darts team.

He said: “The pub has struggled for years. Geoff and Laura moved in and were very homely and they turned it around with respect to food. It’s a shame because they are genuinely nice people and worked hard.”

The tenants of the Artichoke pub in Devizes, another Wadworth pub, have also handed in their notice and will leave at Easter next year.

Allison White and David Brogan have been at the pub, in Bath Road, since last December.

Mrs White said: “We are planning to leave because the margins are not there and we cannot afford to keep taking a loss. It’s really sad because we have brilliant food and great feedback from customers but it’s very difficult to get people in. We have bookings up to Christmas, which we will honour.”

Paul Sullivan, marketing director for Wadworth Brewery, said the pub industry generally was experiencing a tough time.

He said: “It’s desperately hard at the moment.

“We are trying to put as many pubs on a marketing scheme to drum up new business. There are a lot of pubs in Devizes and it’s a constant challenge.”

He did not know when the Fox & Hounds would reopen and said temporary tenants may be put in charge until permanent tenants had been recruited.