FRANCESCA Anderton was hoping her first drink when she turned 18 would be at the pub where her dad has been a regular since he was 18.

But now that ambition will never come true because the Curriers Arms in Royal Wootton Bassett is closing down tonight and has gone on the market with a £400,000 plus VAT price tag.

The 15-year-old was so upset at the move that she wrote to the Advertiser, mourning the loss of her family’s favourite watering hole.

“I was told that my first drink would be in that pub when I eventually turned 18, but unfortunately this will not be reality as the brewery owners, Arkells, want to and are going to shut it down,” she wrote.

“And I know that no one can change that and I realise that on Monday my Dad will have his last pint poured in that bar.”

She remembered families dropping in for a quick celebration on Christmas Day or supporting the pub’s cricket team.

“I know the locals of this bar are disappointed and for years they will tell the stories and the memories they created there. The good times, the not so good times, but they will cherish every single one.

“They will laugh and smile at the reminder of these moments from the past, and no matter how good the new drinking home of my dad and his friends is, it will never compare.”

“But I hope they will all come to realise the true reason of why the Curriers meant so much to each of them. Because it isn’t the building itself, or what the building looked like or where it was or even how long it was there.

“The thing that made the Curriers the place it was, was the people, the friendships, the little communi-ty of people who wanted and sometimes needed a drink. Because at the end of the day, it’s not where you go, it’s who you go with.

“It doesn’t matter what four walls surround you, but the people who are standing there beside you. So yes, I hope they remember the Curriers, and I hope they say ‘cheers’ to it.”

Francesca’s proud dad Mark said he had no idea she had contacted the Adver. “Frankie knows I’m really unhappy about it,” he said. “We just don’t know what we’re going to do. It’s been our meeting place for years.”

The pub, reputed to be haunted, has been owned by Arkells since 1953.