ALL Christmas cheer has been lost for pub landlord Tony Okun, who was told he must leave by January 6 so his pub can become a curry house, just days after he signed a tenancy agreement with Enterprise Inns.

Mr Okun, who runs the Oliver Cromwell at St Edith’s Marsh, near Devizes, with his wife Beverley and son Christian, thought in November that their future at the village pub was secure.

Last summer hundreds of regulars signed a petition to save the pub when it was feared it was going to be turned into an Indian restaurant.

At the time Mr Okun was only a temporary manager and the tenancy was held by Alan Walters, landlord of The Crown at Aldbourne.

But on November 21 he signed a tenancy agreement with Enterprise and handed over £5,000 as a deposit and to cover legal fees.

Last Tuesday he was shocked to receive an email from regional manager Isobel Whitehouse telling him the pub was being sold and he must be out by January 6.

He said: “I couldn’t believe it. She turned up last Tuesday lunchtime when we were in the middle of a busy service with two Indian men. Later that day I got an email from her giving me notice.

“It is ridiculous. We have really turned this place around since we have been here and it is doing very well. It is a real community pub and my regulars are furious. Our Christmas has been ruined but we will fight this.

“People don’t want an Indian restaurant. We’re the only pub in the village as the Greyhound in Bromham is more of a restaurant.”

In the summer more than 400 people signed a petition to stop the pub sell-off and now Mr Okun has started it again.

Sheila Lee, 79, of Rowde, said: “We want this to be a community pub not an Indian restaurant. We already have enough Indian restaurants and we don’t need another one here.

“I really hope Tony and his family can stay. They have fitted in beautifully and are very friendly to everyone. It would be a big blow if it closed.”

Raymond Raffue, another regular at the pub’s pensioners’ lunches, said: “I feel very strongly that Tony should not have to leave. He is doing a great job here.”

An Enterprise spokesperson said “We can confirm that we have given Mr Okun notice to terminate his tenancy at the Oliver Cromwell, which is in line with the terms of his agreement, and have agreed a leaving date which will allow him to benefit from the busy Christmas trading period and ensure that all customer bookings can be honoured.”