Pub culture is an integral part of British life that extends to all corners of the UK including Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

But pubgoers may have noticed an increased number of boozers being closed down or even demolished in their local area.

The number of pubs vanishing from communities across England and Wales surged by a third during the initial months of 2024, due to strain on customers' budgets, new figures reveal.

Government statistics have shown that 239 pubs were either knocked down or converted for other uses in the first quarter of the year.

Over the past year, a total of 472 pubs across England and Wales have permanently been axed, including some beloved Wetherspoons sites.

The data, gathered by commercial real estate experts at Altus Group, indicated that the total number of pubs in England and Wales, including those vacant and available to let, dropped to 39,162 at the end of March. This is a decrease from the 39,401 pubs recorded at the end of 2023.

Monthly closure trends have also soared with the new figures reflecting approximately 80 pubs having closed each month - a 56 percent rise from the 51 per month recorded in the first quarter of 2023.

On a regional scale, some areas have fared better than others with the North West of England having lost the highest number of pubs.

It marked 35 closures during the first quarter of 2024 and the West Midlands wasn't far behind, with a drop of 30. 

According to data, there were 3,904 pubs in the West Midlands at the end of December 2023 and 3,874 at the end of March this year.

It has become an increasing trend across England and Wales, with pubs disappearing from the communities they once served, being demolished or repurposed into homes, offices, and nurseries.

One thing all affected pubs have in common are their reasons for closing; soaring energy and food prices, tighter consumer spending, and a significant tax burden on hospitality businesses.

Leaders in the pub sector have called upon the main political parties to cut beer duty and reform business rates ahead of the General Election on July 4.

Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), commented: "The pub closure figures for the first quarter of this year are a reflection of the continuing high costs of doing business, especially with factors like high energy costs and food and drink inflation remaining higher than the topline inflation rate.

"Trading conditions have also not been helped with the varied weather than we have experienced, and in addition, with £1 out of every £3 being spent in pubs going directly to the taxman, the tax burden with which the beer and pub sector must grapple is another cost component which squeezes margin."

Wetherspoons alone has closed several pubs this year with more than a dozen still under offer or up for sale in the UK. The popular pub chain's portfolio has since slimmed down to just 814 pubs down from 955 in 2015.

But it's still making healthy profits, owner Tim Martin claimed in a statement released in March which noted that sales are now "one third higher" than in 2015, despite closures.