USE it or lose it. That is the stark message as pubs face up to some of the toughest times the licensed trade has known, with many in north Essex already having to call time for good.

The days of the friendly boozer at the end of the road, where the barman knew your name and your tipple of choice, seem to be numbered, as lifestyles change and the recession restricts the reach of drinkers’ wallets.

Figures from the British Beer and Pub Association show that, nationally, 52 pubs a week closed in the first six months of this year, up by a third on 2008.

In Colchester, one of the latest casualties is the Cambridge Arms, in Military Road, which served its last customer a few weeks ago and is now boarded up.

Pub company Admiral Taverns has put the property up for sale as “it no longer fits in with our portfolio”.

Just across the road, the British Grenadier, much loved by real ale enthusiasts and named pub of the year by Colchester CAMRA in 2008, is “treading water at best”.

Linda Eldon, who runs the pub with Simon Foulds, said: “If you have a good week it makes up for the week before, but I would say it’s definitely not the business to come in to.

“The reason pubs are closing is simple. They are not getting people through the doors, and it’s the same story everywhere you go.

“There’s a triple whammy on the trade; the problems in the economy, cheap drink deals at the supermarkets and the smoking ban. For these reasons, people are more likely to stay at home and drink.

“Once it’s gone, people lament the loss of the friendly pub in their neighbourhood, but by not coming in, they’ve done nothing to help it survive.”

However, Linda and Simon aim to “stick with it as long as we can and be here for the upturn”, highlighting the positive role a pub plays in a neighbourhood.

Linda added: “There seems to be an idea pubs are bad, but no one looks at what we do to build up the community through darts and pool leagues and charity fundraising.”

Graham Evans, chairman of Colchester CAMRA, said neighbourhood pubs have been the victim of a social change that meant “people don’t use the pub as their front room anymore”, with the situation made worse by rising taxes on alcohol.

He said: “If you go back 20 years, people used to go to the pub after work nearly every evening and while alcohol was expensive, it was more affordable. Now, people tend to just go out once a week and drink cheaper supermarket beer through the week.”

Mr Evans called for tax concessions to help pubs survive and minimum alcohol prices at supermarkets to curb “uncontrollable drinking”. On the coast it is a similar story, with a glut of pubs closing in Dovercourt and Harwich during the past year, including the Devon, the Mariners nd the White Horse.

Richard Oxborrow, chair of CAMRA’s Tendring branch, said: “People need to learn to use them or lose them, as pubs are having a terrible time at the moment and everything’s against them. We need to protect our pubs as they are part of our heritage.”

Mr Oxborrow called on the Government to help out pubs by reducing the taxes and costs they face, particularly business rates.

He said: “I would like local government to reduce the rates to nothing for struggling pubs for a time and see what happens. It would take the pressure off.”