A VILLAGE landlord has stopped selling real ale - and is blaming the new A1/M1 link road.

The historic village of Towton is no longer signposted from the motorway, which Geoff Wilson, landlord at the Rockingham Arms, feels has cost him a lot of passing trade.

"With the loss of these customers, I could no longer afford to stock real ales," said Geoff, 61, who is chairman of the Yorkshire region of the British Institute of Innkeepers.

"Ales are expensive to stock with a short shelf-life, if people don't drink them, they go off and have to be thrown away."

Frustrated Geoff, who is relying on his fish and chip trade to keep his country pub afloat, is laying down the gauntlet to real ale drinkers.

"CAMRA (campaign for real ale) members may criticise the pub for not stocking the ale, but unless more of them come in, I can't," he said.

"I would dearly love to sell real ales again but I am not in a position to do so. If CAMRA say they are coming on a particular day, and there are enough of them, I will happily get an ale on for them."

The loss of passing trade combined with the well-documented decline in country pubs in general have made times hard for the landlord.

When he took on the British Institute of Innkeeping role eight years ago, his aim was "to save at least one pub in the area" - little did he realise that it would be his own.

In an attempt to keep the pub going Geoff has made a deal with Selby College and now offers free Internet access to punters.

There is also memorabilia from the battle of Towton, one of the bloodiest battles on English soil.

One "unique selling point" Geoff offers is a round pool table. The table fits snugly against a wall, maximising use of space, and players revolve the table to play their shots.