Landlords and managers say profits are down by as much as 30 per cent because of the ban, which has been compounded by the effects of the credit crunch.

A survey of 50 pubs conducted by the Evening Telegraph revealed that three out of five said the smoking ban had affected them for the worse.
Gary Heronsby-Smith, landlord of The Cherry Tree, in Sheep Street, Kettering, said: "The smoking ban has killed us. Before, 95 per cent of my customers were smokers but they have gone. I don't have an outside area, we're a land-locked pub.

"The Cherry Tree is the oldest pub in Kettering, but it might not be here soon."

Dennis Willmott, landlord of The Bell Inn, Finedon, said: "I say that in three years time you'll be lucky to find a village pub.

"The smoking ban is central to the problems. A cigarette and a pint go together. The smoking ban has been the nail in the coffin for English pubs.

"What the Government and councils have to ask themselves is do they want to lose the British pub? We have got overheads like everyone else. Without customers, they will disappear."

Andy Smith, who has been running the Hazel Tree pub in Greenhill Rise in Corby for the past six years, said the situation has got so bad he may have to think about leaving the trade.

He said: "It is not just the smoking ban, it is an amalgamation of things.

"This year my trade is down 17 to 18 per cent. If the brewery and the Chancellor put the prices up again that will be another nail in the coffin."

Landlord of The Talbot Inn in Meadow Road, Kettering, Ann Bowen said: "The number of customers has really decreased.
n Smoking ban a year