THESE children were outraged when planners threatened to shut their “pub”.

While regulars drank in the Swan at Tetsworth, youngsters enjoyed themselves in their own “bar” in a khaki-coloured caravan next door.

Inside the caravan, they could buy cola, sweets and squash.

The caravan also had a games room with electronic machines, a lounge and its own toilet.

But in 1983, county planners declared the caravan an eyesore and threatened legal action to have it removed.

The children were determined to fight to keep the caravan.

Kevin Walker, 14, of Chiltern View, Tetsworth, said: “There will be nothing for us to do if it shuts.

“When it is raining, it is somewhere to go, otherwise we would be out on the street and people wouldn’t want that.”

His friend, Stephen Lydick, of Elms Close, Tetsworth, said: “It’s a good place to meet and get to know each other. We have been coming here ever since it opened.”

The caravan was run by Lisa Bateman and Lorraine Batchelor, both 15, of Marsh End, Tetsworth.

Lisa said: “It is basically a place to meet. A lot of kids don’t bring money in – they just come and chat. There is nowhere else in the village for them to go.“ Even people whose homes overlooked the old caravan backed the children.

Reg James, of Pansole Villas, Tetsworth, said: “I have no objection to it being there. The kids go there in the summer and if it helps to keep them off the road and gives them somewhere to play, it’s all the better for us.

“It is a pity the council doesn‘t find some other eyesores rather than pick on something that helps people in the village.”

The Puffett family, who ran the pub, were bemused because, although planners said the children’s caravan was unsightly, they had given permission for six caravans to be parked on a paddock behind the pub.

Did the children win and keep their caravan? Let us know.