The Prince of Wales stressed the importance of Britain's pubs to rural life today and pledged to visit a few to hone his darts skills.

Charles told a reception of pub landlords at Clarence House in London he felt pubs were crucial in binding communities but that many were still under threat.

On the fifth anniversary of the Pub is the Hub initiative, he said three rural pubs were closing every week and admitted he was unsure what a gastro pub was.

He said: "Whatever it is, it seems to be threatening the future of pub darts which is rather worrying. My youngest son is a great deal better than I am, and you can guess why, but I am doing my best to keep the darts tradition going."

The Pub is the Hub initiative was set up by Charles after he casually said on a pub visit in 2001 that a local pub should really be a hub for the surrounding community.

It aims to keep villages thriving by using pubs for the "co locations" of other threatened services and they have since been used to house post offices, computer training classes and even church services.

Charles said: "Rural communities face unprecedented changes and challenges and that the local pub, which has been part of village life for centuries, is particularly under threat."