Feature: People of tiny English hamlet in race against time to buy their local inn

In the days when England had strict licensing hours, the nightly cry in thousands of public houses and taverns was "Time, gentlemen, please." It was a signal from the landlord of the inn for customers to consume their final drops of ale before heading home.

Reform of the licensing rules, coupled with 24-hour opening, has made that old plea redundant, except in a tiny corner of an area known as the Garden of England. Hidden away amid the forests of the Kent Downs, the 100 residents of the tiny hamlet of Hucking have launched their own race against time.

Their local inn, the Hook and Hatchet, has closed its doors and has been put up for sale with a 700,000 U.S. dollars price tag.

Using newly brought in powers, the villagers have joined forces to have their favorite watering hole declared an official asset of community value.

This official order prohibits the owners from selling the pub to anybody except the villagers of Hucking. But there's a catch. The people of Hucking have until Sept. 7 to raise the money to purchase the pub. If they fail, the brewery will be able to call time, and sell it to any willing purchaser.

The fear is a buyer may buy the attractive tavern to convert it into a housing development.

Owners of the Hook and Hatchet are Shepherd Neame, Britain's oldest brewers dating back to the year 1698.

The brewery says it was forced to close the old pub because it was no longer viable, but they have wished the villagers well in their mission to take over the hamlet's main gathering place.

Local resident Samantha Mabb, who lives in Scragged Oak Road, Hucking, has launched the community campaign to buy and save their village public house.

Mabb told the licensing trade's main journal, the Publican's Morning Advertiser: "The pub is in a very difficult position because it doesn't get much passing trade."

She believes its location in the heart of the 235 hectare Hucking woodlands can transform it into an attractive venue for visitors.

Mabb says more than 255,000 U.S. dollars have already been pledged in the campaign to buy their local pub, and she is currently drawing up a business plan.

According to the pub watchdog organization Camra, the Campaign for Real Ale, more than 600 public houses in Britain have been designated as community assets. Campaigners have pledged to see this number triple to ensure more traditional British pubs and inns are saved.

Even so, since 1980, more than 21,000 British pubs have called time and closed their doors, leaving around 48,000 still open for customers. But with up to 29 closing down each week, the number of survivors continues to fall.

At the government's Department for Communities and Local Government, a spokesman said: "Well-run pubs play an invaluable role at the heart of local communities. They provide a safe, regulated and sociable environment for people to enjoy a drink responsibly and meet people from different backgrounds. Camra research shows that 84 percent of people believe that a pub is as essential to community life as a shop or post office." Endit