A famous Norfolk pub that has been a landmark on the main road between Norwich and Wroxham for centuries has closed, after the landlord said he was losing money and could not continue trading.

Iestyn Thomas took over the Green Man pub, in Wroxham Road, Rackheath about 16 months ago. But he said that the wash-out summer had hit the pub hard and he had been forced to close up yesterday.

Mr Thomas said: 'We cannot continue trading as we are losing money. It's a very difficult industry to be in at the moment, in the middle of a recession. There are a lot of pubs going out of business, and there have been for a long time. It's becoming increasingly difficult to offer value for money, with the overheads we have. The summer weather was bad as well.'

The pub is a popular live music venue and also famed for its Tuesday night jazz evenings, which are now in their 10th year. It's a member of the Norwich Inns buying group of licensed premises, which also includes Broadland Taverns, whose managing director Mike Lorenz said: 'It's very much indicative of the times we are living in. Pubs are struggling to meet their costs and ultimately licensees have to decide whether it's viable to carry on.'

The pub is part of the Wellington Pub Company estate, which was unavailable for comment yesterday.

The Evening News' Love your Local campaign has urged people to either use or risk losing their local pubs.

to see more stories from the campaign visit www.eveningnews24.co.uk/loveyourlocal