A petition to prevent a pub closure in St Albans has gained more than 100 signatures.

The King Offa pub in Wallingford Walk is under threat after it emerged St Albans District Council is planning to buy the lease to the pub and bulldoze the pub for housing.

The council already owns the freehold to the pub, which is let on a long lease to a brewery and it is expected that the pub will come back into the council’s full ownership in June when it will be no longer operate as a licensed premises.

Nick Bell started the petition, which now has 128 signatures. The 30-year-old said: "The King Offa may not be everyone's cup of tea however plays an integral role in the local community.

"There is no other local space where in which such a diverse group of individuals can feel at home. From members of local families of varying ages, to the seniors who have used The Offa as a social venue for decades.

"There is no other venue even close, the closest being The Beehive which is 1.5 miles away - so not ideal for elderly customers.

"Removing this facility will quite literally kill any community spirit and unity currently present in the area."

The majority of people signing the petition have raised concerns that there are no other pubs nearby.

Trisha Lill said: "It's a community pub that brings locals together to meet, relax, chat and interact. It has been there for so long and is a vital place for people to come together.

"Do not close it and sell the plot of for fancy flats or whatever.

"You can't keep closing pubs like this and the camp. You are ripping the very soul out of St Albans.

"It seems if things are not fancy these day then are no longer deemed necessary, when that couldn't be more further from the truth."

Mary Gilroy added: "The Offa may not be to everyone's taste, but for many, especially the older generation, it's where they go to catch up with their friends on a very regular basis.

"Where will people like my dad and his friends go now? They do not drive and can't walk too far and simply do not have the money for cabs into town, not that they want to go into town because they don't know people there.

"The Offa has been part of their social life since the estate grew, there is nowhere else where they will feel comfortable and know they are among friends.

"Over the years, we too have become fond of the Offa and use it regularly to meet friends we have met there.

"It may not be the prettiest and it needs tlc, but it's the people inside that count and make the Offa what us is, a community pub with community spirt and actually loved by many."

See the Review's letters page next week for more reaction to the pub closure.

To sign the petition, click here.