Disappointment from many as community reacts to closure of Wolverhampton pub

The Firs in Castlecroft is set to close its doors in February having seemingly been sold by owners Marston's, with the building's future not fully clear and rumours that it might become an Indian grill bar.

The news of the closure of the pub, which has been open since the 1950s, has caused a flurry of social media comments from residents and other members of the community.

On the Finchfield Merry Hill Penn Castlecroft Community Group on Facebook, Donna Jenkins said the closure of the pub was sad and blamed the issues around parking, an issue which occurred last year when a glitch in parking machine mainframes meant anyone who used the car park was fined.

She said: "This is a sad day for Castlecroft and the people who supported it but, for me, the parking issue was the final nail potentially."

Her sentiments were agreed with by Steve Norton, who said: "A sad piece of news. Locals need to use their local amenities to keep them," and Maureen Alsop, who said: "Been there seems forever, very sad."

Other people on the group said the pub had seen better days and said it could have remained a viable pub if it followed the example of similar businesses.

Rachel Hudson said: "It think it should remain a pub. It's in a quite affluent area.