The Golden Lion is the fourth pub in the village to shut down in recent years. Its licensee, Debbie Jones, blamed rising rents, beer prices and the smoking ban.

Debbie, 40, said it was a heartbreaking decision, but even with the support of locals, she had no choice but to shut.

"It has all been very emotional", she said.

"We are having to uproot, move out of our home and take our children out of school.

"I have run pubs all my life, it is all I have ever known, but it is just impossible to do in England anymore. We were building it up ourselves and it was all going well, but the pub chain put its rents up and told us to either sign the lease or get out."

Debbie and her husband Tom are moving with their two children, Melissa and Kurt, to Murcia, Spain, where they plan to open another pub. She claims locals are planning a petition to Enterprise Inns in protest at their treatment.

In Ripponden The Queen, The Junction, and The White Swan have also closed.

Lindsay Eaton-Walker, owner of the Old Bridge Inn, one of the last remaining pubs, said: "Pubs are closing left, right and centre. The industry is struggling. The smoking ban is an inconvenience, we have noticed the difference."

Enterprise Inns said it would not comment on individual business relationships.

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