REMOTE village pubs in North Yorkshire are surviving the bad weather thanks to a little help from their friends.

Landlords have experienced up to a 50 per cent drop in trade in what should be the busiest month of the year, but are praising local residents for battling the elements to show their support.

The Plough Inn, Fadmoor, near Kirkbymoorside, has suffered badly, being forced to close on some days to save on staff wages. Manager Neil Nickleson said: “It’s been terrible actually, we’ve really struggled.

“Normally we would expect to take around £11,000 a week but recently it’s been more like £5,000, so we’re down about 50 per cent.”

In Lastingham, near Kirkbymoorside, staff at the Blacksmiths Arms said it had also been hard hit.

Landlord Peter Trafford said: “We’ve had a few large parties cancelling – trade is probably down by about 50 per cent.

“The locals are a little bit wary of going out in the cold but they have still been coming in and supporting us.”

Dedicated local trade is helping to keep doors open at The Jolly Farmer Inn, Leavening, near Malton.

But landlord Richard Smith has noted a drop in the number of customers coming in from outside the village.

He said: “You can see the hills covered in snow from York which puts people off. They assume the roads will be bad and fear for the worst about being able to get back home again come 11pm.

“We would expect to have 50 people booked for our Christmas draw but this year it is only ten.”

Community spirit remains high in Thornton-le-Clay, near Sheriff Hutton, where residents have rallied round to in support of local businesses.

Lucy Pilgrim, co-owner of the White Swan Inn, said: “We’ve suffered some cancellations but people still make the effort to walk down here, even in bad weather – it’s always nice to see a row of wellies in the porch, it’s a really good community feel.

“It would be lovely if we could have a mini heatwave and everything thawed out, but I think we’ve shown that we can cope.”