THE country's biggest brewer was today accused of "penny-pinching" after calling time on free beer for local pensioners.

The retired workers at John Smith's in Tadcaster have been enjoying two pints of free ale, three days a week, for more than 20 years.

But the beer dried up today after brewery bosses put a stop to the traditional "perk".

Parent company Scottish & Newcastle - which posted pre-tax profits of £471 million last year - said it had made the decision after reviewing retired employees' non-contractual benefits.

Up to 40 retired workers pop into their "local" - a former pub on the brewery site now known as the "wet canteen" - three mornings a week.

Volunteers take it in turns to serve them two pints of beer each morning, paid for by the brewery. The pensioners said today they were "gutted" by the decision.

They said it would put an end to their social gatherings in the wet canteen, which was originally a pub called The Queen's Head, standing at the gateway to the brewery's premises.

Former secretary Tricia Ford, 62, who was at the brewery for ten years, said: "It's a real shame. The company is penny-pinching.

"All they will be saving is about £1,000 a year, which is peanuts to them.

"A lot of the pensioners are widows or widowers, and it's somewhere they can meet and reminisce. Now they will lose contact with each other."

Retired senior manager Harry Genn, 85, said he had been a regular at the "wet canteen" since he retired in 1982.

Mr Genn, who worked at the brewery for 46 years, said: "The free beer was not an important factor - it was the pleasure of meeting old colleagues.

"It was the highlight of the week for many of us, and now Scottish & Newcastle has destroyed a heritage we all looked forward to."

Sid Pickard, 82, another wet canteen regular, worked in the wine and spirit department at John Smith's for 48 years.

He said he took along to the wet canteen his old mate Dennis Richardson, 72, who is now in a wheelchair. Mr Richardson worked as a clerk at the brewery for 45 years.

Mr Pickard said most of the wet canteen regulars worked at the brewery for more than 30 years.

But a company spokesman denied it was a cost-cutting exercise.

He said they had standardised perks across the country. All its 17,000 pensioners would now get £30-worth of company vouchers every Christmas, instead of £20-worth of Boots vouchers.

The new vouchers could be exchanged for Scottish & Newcastle beers, ciders and wines, which would help the company's long-term success.

He said: "Two-thirds of our pensioners don't benefit from historical events like the company-funded free beer activity in Tadcaster. We will actually be spending more money supporting our pensioners in 2005, but it will be evenly spread."

The spokesman said the company had no plans at the moment for the so-called wet canteen, which was used solely for the pensioners' get-togethers.

Updated: 10:32 Friday, January 28, 2005