The licensee of an Oxford pub has warned the local community that if they do not start using the pub more it will be turned into flats.

Brian Minns, licensee of The Cavalier in Copse Lane, Northway, has become so frustrated with the decline in trade, he has put a sign outside the pub saying: "Pub or flats, your choice - support your local."

And Mr Minns, who has run the pub for the past three years, believes the decline in business is directly linked to the smoking ban that came into place last July.

He said: "Before the ban, 98 per cent of the customers that came in here were smokers. We would have 30 to 40 people in here in the evening before 6pm, popping in for a drink after work and we just aren't getting that any more."

Mr Minns said he did not want to see the site turned into flats, but wanted to warn the local community about what might happen.

He said: "I wanted to tell people that unless they use the pub, they will lose it. And if I go, the pub will be closed down and turned into flats.

"This is the only pub on the Northway estate and if we go that will be it, so it's in their hands now.

"It's a big site and I'm pretty sure you would get a lot of flats or even town houses on here, and I don't want to see that happening."

The decline in trade, coupled with a rise in gas and electricity prices, has already led to a reduction in the pub's opening hours.

Mr Minns said: "We have had to start opening later in the day as I was just paying for someone to sit here with the lights and heating on, twiddling their thumbs."

The licensee admitted the pub had developed a bad reputation before he took it over, but said he had worked hard to turn it around.

He said: "When I got here the pub was pretty run down, and there had been an issue with people doing drugs and other problems.

"I've tried to turn it back into a pub the whole community can use, but I just need them to come out and support us."

Copse Lane resident, Jack Hunt, 41, said: "I didn't realise the situation was that bad.

"No one wants to see the pub gone, but financially times are hard for a lot of people and they don't have the money to spend on drink."