Businesses have been struggling to make ends meet as prices rise during the cost of living crisis, and another local pub has closed after feeling the pinch. 

The Village Inn in Liddington, near Wanborough, announced over the weekend that its doors would be closing for good, just five months after being taken over by new landlords. 

Partners Libby Driver and Thomas Davis took over the lease of The Village Inn in Liddington earlier this year and reopened it on August 31.

But on Thursday last week, the pair announced that they had made the difficult decision to close the pub citing the cost of living crisis as the reason why. 

In a post on their Facebook page, they said: "We are very sad to announce after a lot of thought we will be closing the pub from Sunday, December 4, this was not a decision that was taken lightly and with the current climate as it is we hope you understand the position we are in."

Over that weekend the pub held an 'everything must go' sale on food and drink, but it has now closed its doors for good. 

Libby said: "The country is struggling in general, but this is really hitting the pubs. It's not just that our costs went up massively, it's that since energy prices have gone up for everyone, fewer people are coming."

"People who used to have four drinks were having three or two instead, and every pint counts in this business."

Liddington is currently serving as the official diversion route for motorists to get into Wanborough with the closure of Wanborough Road, although that main route has reopened temporarily for Christmas. 

These roadworks, to prepare the area for the New Eastern Village development, and the Redlands Farm housing estate as part of that, have been cited as causing problems for local businesses in Wanborough by decreasing the number of customers visiting from elsewhere.

Read More: Wanborough pub The Cross Keys closes its doors "for good"

It itself has also seen a local pub closed, with Wadsworth pub the Cross Keys announcing its closure in October. 

This was the couple's first pub venture and despite not ending how they would have liked, they are not ruling out running a pub again in the future, 

"This was probably the wrong time for us to do it, so we'd definitely do it again if we can find the right location and the right time," Libby added.