A pub in the heart of Downham Market has closed its doors, with the landlords saying the 'current climate' means it is not viable for it to stay open.

The Swan Hotel licensees, Brendan and Nikki Morgan, have run the pub on the High Street for almost five years and thanked the community for its support as they took to social media to announce the closure.

A post entitled 'The End is Nigh' on The Swan Hotel's Facebook page and was met with upset from their 500 followers.

It said: 'It is with great sadness that the time has come for us to say goodbye to The Swan Hotel.

'We have made many lifelong friends over the last four and half years and are so very grateful to those who have continued to support The Swan through the good and bad times.

'Unfortunately, the bad times have now outweighed the good and we will be closing the doors at 11.59pm on Sunday, March 31 but we would love you to join us for one last time before we leave and help us go out with a bang.'

On the last evening, the owners asked their customers to attend the usual Sunday Night Karaoke from 7pm, offering special offers on drinks as well as nibbles.

The post went on to say: 'We have had some amazing times here at The Swan Hotel and we will both miss it very much but, in the current climate, it is simply not viable for us to keep open.

'Thank you to all of you, we hope to see you again in the future, Brendan and Nikki.'

Customers took to Facebook to express their sadness on the pub's closure.

Michelle Kearney said: 'Ahhh Brendan, such a lovely landlord too hope you're not off too far.'

Pat Adams said: 'What a shame.'

The site of the Swan hotel is said to have played host to some royal guests. King John stayed at a hostelry which stood on the site in 1216 and it was a place of refuge for Charles I in 1646 when he was trying to evade capture from Parliamentary forces.