I HAVE lived in Penketh all my life and know most people in the small village.

The majority of people do not want to see the pub close and they certainly do not want a cheap shop like Netto there (Warrington Guardian, May 5).

Marston’s continually put up the prices whenever the pub made a profit with Joe Dodd spending thousands of his own money on the beer garden and sports memorabilia inside, so due to their constant price hikes (even if the Chancellor put beer prices down) it was counterproductive to make a profit for the poor manager.

Why a mile up the road does the Marston pub – The 8 Towers – charge about £2.50 to £3 for a beer, while the same brewery was constantly putting up the Sportsman’s beers to £3.50 for the same drink Marston’s knew what it was doing; purposely breaking up the one decent local pub, as all the others are just nasty food outlets that serve beer.

PAUL KINSELLA Penketh