POPPING out for a pint to your local could be a thing of the past for some Chorley drinkers as a number of old haunts close.

Pubs across town have been put up for sale -- prompting fears over the future of Chorley's pub trade and the amount of buildings stood idle and empty.

The Duke of York, Bolton Road, The Eagle and Child, Pall Mall, The Talbot, Botany Brow and the Black Boy Inn, Moor Road, are among those that have been closed and boarded up -- with rumours of more closing shortly.

Kings Business Transfer, based in Manchester, who is overseeing the sale of the Eagle and Child, explained that the previous owner had gone on to pursue other business interests.

A company spokesperson said: "I can confirm we have had a number of offers on the premises and that the building will definitely remain a public house."

A spokesperson for The Talbot said the pub had been put up for sale in order that they concentrate on other business ventures.

Sally Peach, nationwide sales manager for Whitbread says there are no plans for the company to sell pubs in Chorley.

She said: "There's been a lot of rumours up and down the country that pubs are being sold off. This is simply not true. There is a climate of change across the industry with companies being bought up and sold off, meaning that individual pubs are being put on the market."

Jose Hampson, from the town's Chamber of Trade, said members were worried at the present state of pubs across the Chorley area.

She said: "I think it's the general situation that a lot of breweries are consolidating.

"However, we are not very happy to see buildings stood empty in Chorley's town centre. Shops are feeling the pinch up and down Market Street, so I hope this is not spreading to the pub trade."