A MUM has told of her anger after a town pub closed down the day after she paid for her Christmas Day meal.

Customers have been left in the dark after the sudden closure of the John Gregory at Southill, Weymouth.

Westham hairdresser Luan Gray had decided to treat herself by booking a Christmas day meal at the pub with her partner Michael and their three young children.

When she handed over £105 for the mandatory pre-payment of the meal she wasn’t informed of any problems at the pub.

The next day customers were greeted with a notice on the front door of the pub which read: ‘Pub closed until further notice – sorry for any inconvenience caused.’ Miss Gray said: “I feel completely ripped off because we were told to pay up on December 6 and then the very next day they were closed.

“My heart sank when I drove past a few days later and saw it all shut up. The worst thing is my family were really looking forward to it – I have a new-born baby and I was looking forward to not cooking for once on Christmas Day.

“The £105 I paid is a lot of money to me and now I don’t know if I’ll be able to find anywhere else.”

In 2008 the current licensee Sarah and Martin Jackson bought the leasehold of the pub for £60,000 from Weymouth company The Pub Shop Catalogue Ltd.

Managing director of the pub agency Rob Symes said: “Pubs in general are having a really hard time in the wake of the smoking ban and at the same time competing with the sale of low cost alcohol in the supermarkets.

“Lately I’ve heard that the John Gregory started selling low-priced food which obviously can help because food is integral to a pub’s success, but unfortunately not in this case.”

A spokesman from the pub chain Punch Taverns, which own the building, said: “It is our policy not to discuss the private business affairs of our licensees; however, we can confirm the licensee at the John Gregory has made a decision to leave the business.

“Our priority is to re-open the John Gregory as soon as possible, which we hope will be before Christmas.

“In the meantime, any customers who have put down deposits for Christmas bookings should call our contact centre on 0844 7 360 360 and leave their details so we can keep them updated with the John Gregory’s scheduled reopening and if necessary help find an alternative local venue.”

The Echo’s attempts to contact Mr and Mrs Jackson were unsuccessful.

* Have you been left in the lurch after booking your Christmas party meal at the pub? If so call Miriam Phillips on 01305 830995 or email her at miriam.phillips@dorsetecho.co.uk