Sudden closure of troubled town pub

One of the best known pubs in Bilston has suddenly shut and been boarded up.

The shutters came down on The Spread Eagle in Lichfield Street yesterday and workmen were brought in to make the building secure.

The pub is believed to have been struggling financially and was also linked to the murder last year of 34-year-old plasterer Tom Berry. The owner of the premises was today unavailable to comment on either the reason for the sudden closure or on the future of the once popular site.

But a former employee claimed: "The rent was going up and the take behind the bar was dropping. It just did not seem to be making enough money. I have no idea where things go from here."