ONCE the number one pub of choice for local rugby fans, a Barrow tavern looks set to close for good.

The Wheatsheaf, in Hindpool Road, has been put up for sale by specialist estate agents Westlake & Co, inviting offers of around £125,000.

Significantly, the accompanying listing suggests that the near-2,000 sq ft property, facing Hollywood Park retail centre, would be "suitable for alternative uses" - and one former landlord believes that it is unlikely it will be taken on as a pub again.

Mike Fallon, licensee of Theatre Bar in the Town Centre and a senior voice of the Barrow pub trade, said that it was where he went to drink as soon as he was old enough, as did his father and his grandfather before him.

"It is a shame that it looks like it is gone for good, but that's just the way of the world," he said.

"I was drinking there from the age of 18, and then I took it on as landlord from 1992 until about 10 years ago. The funny thing is, I tried to buy it three times but it was doing well and the owners were reluctant to sell.

"After the steelworks and ironworks closed it became a struggle to keep it going, and I can't see it being taken on as a pub again."

Following the likes of The Friars, The Washington and The George Hotels in closing in recent years, the plight of the formerly thriving Wheatsheaf is a further indication of the declining pub trade in Barrow Borough.

Situated alongside Craven Park, Mr Fallon recalls a time when on match days queues were out of the door.

"When the rugby were at home you couldn't even get to the bar it was so busy," he said. "Towards the end, it didn't even open on match days.

"When the shipyard used to have hour lunch, we used to put on food and serve meals and pints - when they went to half-hour breaks that died out. The smoking ban didn't help - how can you tell an old bloke he can't smoke anymore?

"It's nobody's fault that this has happened, but those days are over now."