More than 500 British pubs closed their doors for the final time last year due to crippling taxes and inflation

MORE than 500 British boozers closed their doors for the final time last year.

Crippling taxes and inflation meant the total number of closures since 2017 hit 3,043.

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And last year alone, 6,000 people lost their job as a result of boozers having to shut down.

Pub chiefs today warn that more are on the way with landlords struggling to operate on “incredibly narrow margins”.

They blame the rising price of raw materials, energy bills and a heavy tax ­burden for their plight.

Thanks to The Sun’s Save Our Sups campaign, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced in last November’s Autumn Statement that alcohol duty would remain frozen until August this year.

Now the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) is calling for a sizeable cut to business rates in the Spring ­Budget in March to help out more.

Its chief exec Emma McClarkin said: “When a community loses a pub, it does not just lose buildings and jobs — it loses a cultural asset at the heart of the community that is impossible to replace.

“Now is the time to stop the rot.”

She wants the Chancellor to cut beer duty, cap the business rates multiplier and reduce the VAT applied to hospitality venues.

This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk