A TROWBRIDGE couple went to a restaurant to discuss details of the booking they had made for Christmas Day lunch only to find it had shut down.

When Eileen and Roy Smith then tried to phone the Sportsman restaurant in Rode, an answer-phone message simply said it would reopen in the New Year.

Mrs Smith said: "We are going to stay at home now. It is disappointing. I haven't been very well and my husband didn't want me to worry about Christmas lunch."

The couple decided to go to the Sportsman after eating there a couple of months ago.

They booked a table for themselves and their family, including their daughter-in-law's parents, who will be visiting from Russia.

Mrs Smith added: "We left our phone number with the restaurant but they didn't call. I feel sorry for others, who might not know it is shut."

No one from the Sportsman was available for comment.