Villagers Furious At Sacking Of Popular Publicans

Villagers in Billesdon have hit out at the actions of a brewery who gave popular publicans just seven days notice to leave after terminating their contract.

Mark and Wendy Richards took over running the New Greyhound last year and residents say they transformed the pub into a thriving community venue.

Villagers mounted a petition demanding a re-think by brewery Marston’s and calling for transparency over the decision.

It was signed by over 160 people but fell on deaf ears and the couple departed the pub today, with a number of villagers gathering in protest as the keys were handed back.

Resident Jonathan Unna told HFM the village united in support of the publicans:

The scene at the pub this morning

Mark, a publican of more than 35 years, said the first the couple knew of any issues was last Tuesday when they were told by Marston’s it ‘wasn’t working’ and they had a week to leave.

He said: “We have had a blast in our short time here and made some good friends.

“If we had done things wrong we wouldn’t be putting ourselves through this, accepting the support from so many of the locals, a petition and talking to local MPs.

“Thank you for the support, it’s been emotional, still is emotional. Thank you so much for all the love and support from this amazing community.”

A spokesperson for Marston’s told HFM that “the relationship between the operator and their area manager had broken down.”

They added the terms of Mark and Wendy’s departure are in line with their contract and are ‘mutual’ and a temporary operator will be on-site from tomorrow.