Witney Liberal Democrats want the threat to village pubs and small brewers taken up as an issue at their national party conference.

District councillor Gareth Epps believes that measures like rural rate relief and a relaxation on beer duty will help halt the decline.

He said: "A crazy property market and failure of legislation has left many communities without pubs and let small breweries close. "The pub is one of the pillars of the village community. Liberal Democrats believe in strong communities, which is why we support pubs."

Mr Epps, who lives at Charlbury and represents Freeland on West Oxfordshire District Council, has tabled a motion for the party conference at Bournemouth next month.

West Oxfordshire has lost 16 per cent of its rural pubs over the last 25 years. In recent years one village, Bampton, has lost three of its eight pubs. One landlord, George Blackwell, has a simple message for residents "use it or lose it." He and his wife Patricia bought the Elephant and Castle in Bridge Street three years ago.

The building has planning consent to be converted into a residential property but Mr Blackwell, a former village policeman, says he wants to keep the business going.

"Theoretically, we can close at any time and turn it into a house, but we'd rather stay open as a pub," he said.