THE landlady of a popular Worcester pub which has now closed says the 'ludicrous' rent forced them into bankruptcy.

The Saracens Head in The Tything has had two signs displayed outside saying "closed until further notice" since Wednesday lunchtime.

Mother-of-two Shaylene Kitchener, the pub's landlady, said despite the pub being successful and popular they simply could not afford the £72,000 a year rent.

Mrs Kitchener has run the pub with husband Steve for the last 11 years.

She said the couple had been trying to negotiate a settlement with the landlord, whom she believes may live overseas, for the last two years but without success.

Mrs Kitchener said: "We have had to declare bankruptcy. It is £72,000 a year rent which is a ludicrous amount. There are pubs paying a lot less rent than that and they are only just making it.

"The pub would have to have the capacity of Tramps nightclub to cover the rent. It is unsaleable because of the rent. It has been on the market for a year and a half."

They even dropped the price of the Saracens Head (the business itself rather than the building which is owned by someone else) from £69,000 to £29,950.

She said a man was going to convert the upstairs at the Saracens into a Chinese restaurant but that he too was unhappy about the high rent the landlord would charge and had backed out of the enterprise. The couple did have 18 years left on the lease.

She said: "We are the victims in this and so are our unfortunate staff who have had to lose their jobs."

There were nine member of staff at the pub, most of which were part-time positions but two of which were full-time. Mrs Kitchener said she was trying to help them find new jobs.

Mrs Kitchener said: "We have always had fantastic staff. Everyone did as much as they could, pulled out all the stops. We were doomed. We had no chance of making it work unless we found gold bars in the cellar.

"Our humblest apologies to the customers that have been drinking in there for so many years and to all our staff for who have shown such dedication and we're very sorry this has had to happen and end up this way. We wish everybody the best."

Neither the business nor the building itself have been sold Mrs Kitchener said.

Bob Blandford, also known as Bob Backenforth, who writes about Worcester's pubs on his blog and is author of "Worcester Pubs Then and Now" said he thought the free house was one of the best pubs in Worcester and landlord Steve Kitchener had bucked the trend by doing his 'own thing' with the pub.

The pub was popular for its real ales, skittle alley and for showing sports on several televisions allowing different matches to be shown at the same time.

He said: "All credit to Steve for renting the bricks and mortar and using it as a free house. It had been extremely popular. It's obviously sad. It has a fabulous history. It always was one of Worcester's greatest pubs. We can only hope that it reopens quite soon."

Mr Blandford said one of the biggest successes of the pub was the clever way the landlord had adapted to the smoking ban by using the outdoor space.

He added: "When the smoking ban came in he realised what was going on and built a canopy outside, put a couple of televisions out there and it was heated. It was a master stroke. He found a way around it (the ban) and turned it to his advantage. It has always been a lovely pub.

"He had some good ideas. It comes as a surprise that it has reached this unfortunate situation."

Mr Blanford said the history of the pub went back as far as the 1500s and was active as the 'Blackamoor' from 1715 and played host to circuses and fairs.

He said the pub, which is near both Worcester Magistrates Court and Worcester Crown Court, had been used by judges but also by Kays staff in the past when they worked at St Oswald's, also situated in the Tything.

Mr Blandford said the pub had also been popular with county cricketers, especially in the 1960s, playing host to Norman Gifford and Basil D'Oliveira.

Bill Ottaway of the Campaign for Real Ale, co-organiser of Worcester's beer festival, said: "It's quite concerning. The Saracens is one of those excellent pubs in the city for some really good real ales. They have also had beer festivals on.

"They also have a skittle alley so it is supporting all the skittle teams. It will be a real shame if it were not to reopen."