The doors of a landmark Pitsea pub were today closed with a sign attached saying the company which runs it had ceased trading.

Enquiries concerning the Cornhusker Carvery, formerly Aunt Fanny's and originally the Gun, are being directed to Begbies Traynor in Southend.

A spokesman for Begbies Traynor, which provides corporate rescue and recovery as well as voluntary liquidation services, confirmed it has been contacted by the limited company running the pub.

However, no official notice of liquidation has yet been published. The pub was said to have been open and in full swing on Christmas Eve.

However, mystery surrounds why the doors have remained closed since then.

Geraldine Evans, landlady of the Barge pub, High Road, Vange, said licensees in the area were having to work against the increased competition of the Festival Leisure Park and new Basildon town centre pubs.

The person responsible for running the Cornhusker was today unavailable for comment.

Shut - a sign has been attached to the Cornhusker pub, above, saying it has ceased trading

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.