BANNING smoking in pubs is hitting tradtional' pubs across Swindon hard and could even kill them off.

So say two landlords whose businesses have both felt the pinch since July 1 last year, when lighting up inside was snuffed out.

"I have been in the pub trade for 32 years and this year has been the hardest year I've ever had," said Mick Williams, landlord of the Rodbourne Arms.

"I have lost £1,000 a week because of the ban.

"We are a traditional pub and about 95 per cent of my trade are smokers.

"Some of that is to do with economics and the fact that times are getting tougher but the majority of it, for us at least, is down to the smoking ban.

"Traditional pubs like us will go eventually and all we'll be left with are restaurants and just a handful of pubs."

To survive, the pub has introduced different sports teams and now it is attracting new customers who want to sign up to darts and pool teams.

The Beehive on Eastcott Hill also saw a drop in trade after July 1.

"Initially things were very bad," said licensee Andy Hill.

"My trade was down 30 per cent for the six or seven months after the ban bit.

"Now trade has come back a bit as people realise we are doing things they can't get elsewhere.

"But I think this move is killing traditional pubs. Two traditional drinking and smoking pubs have closed in Old Town in the past few months.

"And I think Swindon will lose these kind of pubs for good - banning smoking made it inevitable."

To find out how pubs had fared since the ban came in the the Adver polled 78 pubs around the town.

Of those prepared to talk, 41 said trade had suffered since the smoking ban came into force and 37 said business had not been affected.

Several of those who spoke to the Adver said since the ban they had lost 50 per cent or more of their business.

Many of those not affected by the change in the law said that more families now visited their pubs while others said although the smoking ban had not hurt trade, the credit crunch had begun to hit in the past few months.

Lionel Starling, licensing manager at Swindon Council, said that in the past year four pubs across the borough had closed - something unheard of in Swindon.

"Since November last year it's become very grim for everyone," he said.

"It is a poor time in the trade - having said that it isn't as bad here as it is in some parts of the country. I suppose that's because we still have low unemployment here in Swindon and people are still out there spending money.

"That said people are feeling the economy starting to bite."