28875/2The newly published Good Pub Guide 2005 reveals the price of a pint at big company-owned pubs is much higher than in free houses.

We sent reporter Ed Mezzetti to look at the picture across north and west Wiltshire to see if the same trends exist closer to home.

THE Good Pub Guide is seen by many as the beer fan's bible, offering analysis of the best watering holes in the country.

The 2005 edition, published last week, shows a pint can cost almost 10p more at pubs controlled by large companies than in free houses.

With only slightly less resources at my disposal, I surveyed 22 pubs in our circulation area in search of the cheapest pint of lager available.

The findings, displayed left, provide some support for the Good Pub Guide's view, but also indicate there is plenty of value to be had, particularly in west Wiltshire.

The cheapest pint I found was at the Anchor and Hope, Frome Road, Trowbridge, where Castlemaine XXXX was £1.80.

The pub is owned by the Dovebourne Ltd group, as is our number two-ranked watering hole, the Rising Sun in Bradford, which serves the same pint at £2.

Rising Sun landlord Dave Northeast said: "Our bosses told us to bring it out at that price and that's how it's staying.

"At that price it's proving very popular, especially when the premium lagers cost around £2.50. I reckon the company must have a good deal with the supplier.

"In Bradford on Avon we are a small town with fairly similar prices. They really only differ by 5p or 10p a pint.

"I've been the landlord here for nine and a half years and normally the prices go up 10p around about budget time."

The 2005 guide criticises pub-owning companies Enterprise and Punch, which control around 16,000 pubs nationwide, for charging "significantly more expensive" prices.

The national average for a pint in such pubs is £2.25 as opposed to £2.16 from free houses.

Enterprise owns Trowbridge's White Swan and our table seems to fit the guide's conclusions. While the average price of lager at a 'tied' pub comes out as £2.34, the White Swan charges £2.45 a pint.

Authors Alisdair Aird and Fiona Stapley said: "It is difficult to escape the conclusion that this pattern of pub ownership, by loading nearly 10p a pint extra on the cost of a pint, is working against the interests of consumers.

"Tenants of pub-owing companies owning more than a certain number of pubs say 3,000 should be given the legal right to buy and stock one beer from an independent supplier other than their own pubco."

By contrast, the average price of lager at the six free houses we surveyed was £2.40, which appears to buck the trend in the guide.

While the unofficial Wiltshire Times and Chippenham News league table looks at lager prices, the 2005 guide includes bitters and ales to find the average overall cost of a pint. Lancashire emerges as Britain's cheapest drinking destination at £1.90 a pint with Wiltshire bang in the middle on £2.16 and London leading the way with £2.42.

Wiltshire Times and Chippenham News League Table

Prices are for a pint of lager

1. Anchor and Hope, Trowbridge £1.80 tied

2. Rising Sun, Bradford on Avon £2 tied

3. Foresters Arms, Melksham £2.21 tied

4. Riverside Inn, Bradford on Avon £2.25 free

5= The Bear, Melksham £2.30 tied

Lysley Arms, Chippenham £2.30 tied

7= Court House, Trowbridge £2.35 tied

The Linnet, Great Hinton £2.35 tied

9=Ludlow Arms, Westbury £2.40 free

The Crown, Westbury £2.40 tied

Fox and Hounds, Warminster £2.40 free

Queen's Head, Box £2.40 free

Three Crowns, Chippenham £2.40 tied

14. White Swan, Trowbridge £2.45 tied

Bunch of Grapes, Bradford on Avon £2.45 tied

The Duke, Bratton £2.45 free

Royal Oak, Corsham £2.45 free

18= Barge Inn, Seend Cleeve £2.50 tied

Old Bell, Warminster £2.50 tied

Methuen Arms, Chippenham £2.50 tied

The George Inn, Longbridge Deverill £2.50 free

Red Lion, Lacock £2.50 tied