It is a worrying statistic for the licensed trade, but one which sits within a national trend that is seeing traditional watering holes – one-time hubs of the local community – disappear from our streets for good.

Many tap room regulars will point to a law which has divided opinion.

Around 14 pubs have shut their doors in Blackpool since the England-wide prohibition on people lighting up in public places came into force on July 1 last year.

Many licensees say the new law has not helped, but admit it is far from being the sole reason why so many pubs have "closed" signs up right now.

On the flip side, health bosses say the ban has been good news as record numbers of smokers have quit on the Fylde coast in the last 12 months – an estimated 1,500 locally – and heart attacks have gone down by three per cent.

So is the ban on smoking inextricably linked to pub closures?

Adrian Clay, manager of The Raikes, on Liverpool Street, Blackpool, said: "It has affected business. The drinkers who would come in and spend three or four hours having a few drinks and a cigarette we are seeing less of.

"It just feels as if it's one thing after another in the industry and we're really under the cosh. It's not just the smoking ban, it's the global economy, cheap supermarket booze, but the smoking ban has not helped."

Dave Daly, licensee at The Castle on Central Drive, Blackpool, added: "It's partly because of the smoking ban, but that's just part of it.

"It's due to cheap supermarket booze and also a lack of re-investment in the town centre. I would say as far as the smoking ban is concerned, it has meant about a five or six per cent drop."

Local organisers from the Campaign for Real Ale say those pubs worst hit are traditional locals in residential areas who do not have the facilities or the means to diversify and sell more food and cater for families.

Nationally, pubs have been closing at the rate of 27 a week over the past year.

The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) has warned many communities will be left without a pub unless the Government acts now, starting with a duty freeze on beer.

Zoe Pomirs, manager at The New Road Inn, Talbot Road, said she was leaving the trade at the end of the summer due to a number of issues.

She said: "It's not all down to the smoking ban, but that certainly has had an effect.

"I don't think people can afford to keep going with all the difficulties. Just look at all the pubs in Blackpool that have closed already and I think there will be more.

"I haven't really seen a drop in regulars, but in people who just come in off the street and are not staying as long."

The Gazette reported in March how the Claremont Theatre Club, North Shore, popular to hundreds of members for almost three decades, was forced to close its doors.