The sudden closure of a Bingley pub has left people out of pocket and struggling to find somewhere for Christmas dinner.

The canalside Fisherman’s Inn closed some two weeks ago and its windows are now covered with brown paper.

And many diners have had their plans ruined for Christmas Day, said Angela Chmilowskyj, who only discovered the pub was shut when she tried to make her final menu choices.

“I made a booking for six adults and three children on November 16 and paid £10 deposit per adult and £5 per child which is £75 all together,” said retired Mrs Chmilowskyj, of Sandy Lane.

“I’d been e-mailed the menus and been told we had to send in our choices by December 15 at the latest.

“As I left it to the last minute I tried ringing but was getting no reply.

“Then somebody told me it had actually closed about a fortnight before and the windows were all blanked out with brown paper on the inside.

“I’m hoping I can get my deposit back as it was paid for by credit card, otherwise I don’t know what to do about the money.”

But her immediate priority was finding somewhere else to have a meal.

“We usually have Christmas dinner at home, but an 84-year-old aunty of mine has just come out of hospital so we wanted to do something nice and easy.”

After ringing around all of Bingley’s pubs only to find them fully-booked, managers at the Flappit, agreed to put on an extra sitting just for Mrs Chmilowskyj and her family.

“It was very kind of them and a great relief,” she said.

“But I am worried about people who may have made their menu choices before the Fisherman’s Inn shut and might not have a clue that it’s shut.

“It would be awful for them to turn up on Christmas Day expecting a meal and find the door locked and bolted.”

Both the Fisherman’s Inn in Wagon Lane and the Old White Horse, Old Market Street, were run by former Home Office security and counter terrorism advisor Roy Davison, and his partner Matt Halliday, the former head of a gay rights group in London.

They took over the leases with pub chain company Enterprise Inns last summer. The Old White Horse has since become a tapas bar.

A spokesman for Enterprise Inns said: “We can confirm that the Fisherman’s Inn has closed following the publicans’ decision to cease trading. We appreciate that this is a very popular site therefore we would like to reassure patrons of the Fisherman’s Inn that we are working very hard to clarify matters and get the pub reopened at the earliest opportunity.”