The uncertainty of the pub trade is evident in the number of watering holes disappearing from our towns and cities.

In Bradford alone, it is estimated that 50 pubs have closed their doors over the past five years and with the rate of closures continuing across the country, it seems the pub is losing its place as the one-time hub of the community.

Historically, they are places to relax and socialise, but in many respects pubs have lost out, unable to compete with the cheap alcohol people are now able to buy from supermarkets and off licences. Big screen entertainment no longer appeals to many of those able to invest in large-screen TVs for their homes and the smoking ban is also said to have contributed to the industry’s demise.

Calls have been made within the industry to halt the decline and now real ale campaigners are calling for urgent Government action to help prevent further closures while warning of a “ticking time bomb” in the industry.

The Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) has delivered a 42,000-name petition to the Business Department and staged a rally outside Parliament to highlight continuing problems for pubs tied to large companies.

Last year, the Government held a consultation on reforming the so-called pubco model – under which licensees have to buy beer from one of the large firms – but Camra said it was crucial that an announcement is made in the next few weeks.

Colin Valentine, chairman of Camra, says: “It is absolutely vital that the Government disarms the ticking time bomb threatening the nation’s pubs.”

He says Camra is demanding the introduction of a Pubs Watchdog to rule on disputes between licensees and pubcos, plus a guest beer right and a market rent-only option for tied licensees.

“These measures are essential in order to create a level playing field for licensees, ensuring those tied to the large pubcos are no worse off than those that are free of tie,” says Mr Valentine.

Camra says it is well over 12 months since the Government launched its consultation, but it had failed to act.

Adds Mr Valentine: “The reforms Camra are seeking will enable publicans tied to the large pub companies to make a decent living and invest in their business, protecting thousands of valued pubs and creating a thriving industry.

“The current model is weighed far too heavily in the favour of the pub company at the expense of the licensee and it is essential the Government acts now to redress the balance, before thousands more people lose their livelihood.”

David Boothroyd, CAMRA’s Bradford branch chairman, believes the area’s demographics, the taxation burden and steep rents levied on landlords through the pub companies have all played a part in the demise of the district’s pubs.

But David is confident it will settle down. “The rate of closures has slowed down, but it isn’t stopping. If you wander around, there are still places that are boarded up. They may open again, we don’t know,” he says.

“But I am confident a number of pubs will survive and will flourish. One day it will settle down to sufficient really good pubs run by people who care and do a good job.”

Bradford landlord Sean Garvey is one of many landlords in the city working hard to ensure the pub trade stays alive.

His awards are testimony to the success of his pubs – the New Inn, Denholme, The Albion in Greengates and a city centre pub in Halifax – but Sean believes it is down to the public to use their local pub or lose it.

He also believes VAT is crippling the pub trade. “What would solve this and what would help is to reduce the VAT drastically in this sector to give it a fighting chance,” he says.

Sean explains he wants to see the 20 per cent VAT they pay on all products reduced to five per cent so they can pass the savings on to their punters.

But Sean is confident, despite the social changes which have led customers away from pubs, such as the availability of cheaper alcohol in supermarkets, that pubs will become popular again.

“I got into this business seven years ago because I was struggling to find an old-fashioned pub,” he says.

“I have got the best social network going because it is talking to people face-to-face,” says Sean, referring to pubs giving people a break from social media on phones and computers.

The availability of cheaper alcohol has prompted people to drink at home rather than in pubs, but Sean warns that when they do get bored of being at home and want to go out and socialise, their local pub may not be there.

“I think without the pub Britain would be a very sad and sorry place. We will all sit back one day and think we could have all done something about it,” he says.