A HIGH street pub has been forced to close after allegations that its tenants failed to pay the rent.

Bar staff at the Blacksmiths Arms, High Street, Caterham, have called time for the last time, and the property is now heavily boarded up.

A note posted on the pub door reads: "Take note that the landlord Net Unit Euro Properties Ltd has forfeited the lease of these premises, the Blacksmiths Arms, 39 High Street, by reason of non-payment of rent."

Residents and neighbouring businesses said they were not particularly shocked by the closure, but the speed at which it happened had taken them by surprise.

Francis Demel, 65, MoT tester at Elite Garages opposite the pub, said: "One day it was open, the next it was shut. We had no idea how bad things had got.

"We understand the family has gone to Egypt. I don't expect we'll see them again.

"But we never drank there. To be honest, it was a bit too downmarket for us. It's been closed for two weeks or so now."

Mr Demel's sentiments were echoed by Caterham High Street butcher Ray Chalk, 64, who said he was not particularly sorry to see the pub shut down.

He said: "I've been here for 35 years. I've seen it all. And I'm not sorry to see it go. I just hope new landlords come in and turn things around there."

He added despite the closure, he did not think Caterham-on-the-Hill High Street was a particularly bad place to trade at the moment.

He said: "I don't think the problem is the High Street. I think that a well-run business can still do well here."

One Caterham resident who said he drank at the pub, 39-year-old Paul Gallon, said: "I went there from time to time and it wasn't doing much business the last time I was there.

"But it's always sad to see another pub go to the wall. It's just a sign of the times, especially with cheap booze in supermarkets."

A representative from Aston Bond, the Slough-based solicitors of the landlord, this week confirmed the pub was forfeited for non-payment of rent.