IT is the end of an era for a popular Kearsley pub that has closed down — blaming competition from supermarkets.

The Moss Rose pub in Manchester Road, which was used as a wedding, birthday and funeral venue, opened its doors for the final time on Sunday, January 4, and it has now been boarded up.

Former regulars at the pub, some of whom had been going there for more than 60 years, say they are devastated to see it close.

Roy Farnworth, aged 82, first visited The Moss Rose with his father in 1951, when he was 18, and has been a regular ever since.

Mr Farnworth, of St Stephen's Gardens, Kearsley, said: "I can still remember going in there for the first time and my dad buying me a half pint.

"It was a very popular pub with a very nice family atmosphere and I have lots of fond memories of it.

"That said, I can understand why it's closing. Towards the end, the crowds started dwindling and there would only be four or five of us in there some nights.

"It's sad to see it go."

Mr Farnworth put the pub's decline down to the growing trend of buying alcohol from supermarkets among young people.

He said: "Youngsters don't seem to bother going to pubs until much later in the evenings.

"Supermarkets sell alcohol very cheaply and this has definitely contributed to the falling numbers at The Moss Rose."

Aaron Cardwell first visited The Moss Rose pub back in 1963 and since retiring in 2001 he visited the pub several times a week.

Mr Cardwell, aged 77, of Medway Drive, Kearsley, said: "I'm disappointed to see it close. When I first started going to The Moss Rose, there were a lot more elderly people in there than there was towards the end.

"Sadly, it hadn't been as much of a community retreat in recent years.

"I've had my birthday party, my wife's birthday party and my son's funeral in the pub, so it's very close to me.

"I will have to start going into Bolton and to Kearsley Cricket Club for a drink now, but I will never forget the times I had in The Moss Rose."

The pub was temporarily closed in 1990 while it was given a makeover and then re-opened as a Vaux pub.