Misery ... Thistle Inn's Jim McLelland in empty bar in Crossmichael
MANY struggling pubs across Scotland can now only afford to open at weekends as drinkers turn to cheap supermarket booze, beleaguered landlords have warned.
Scores of bars have been forced to close during the week due to a devastating dip in trade.
Some pubs in Glasgow are only open for EIGHT HOURS a FORTNIGHT - relying on punters watching big football matches to survive.
And publicans still reeling from the smoking ban are now losing the battle against supermarket giants selling cut-price alcohol for less than they sell water, a shock Scottish Sun investigation has found.
Recent British Beer & Pub Association figures reveal nearly 40 boozers are going bust every week.
And bar bosses say the traditional Scots pub could die out - costing thousands of jobs - unless politicians step in to save them.
Scottish Licensed Trade Association chief Paul Waterson said: "The Government is allowing supermarkets to give alcohol away and ignoring the fact it's killing pubs."
Closing time ... Dingwall pub owner Sean Kennedy has been forced to shut bar for one day a weekMany publicans we spoke to were scared to speak out because by law they must open for the hours stated on their licence. To change the terms costs up to ?825.
Local authorities have been turning a blind eye because many council-run bars are also affected.
Jim McClelland, 57, has owned the Thistle Inn, in Crossmichael, Kirkcudbrightshire, for 35 years.
But for the last six months he's been forced to shut up shop on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Jim groaned: "It just doesn't make any sense to pay staff when there are no customers.
"I've been running my bar for 35 years and this is the first time I've had to shut during the week. It's heart-breaking."
Jim reckons supermarkets and the smoking ban is killing the industry. He said: "These supermarket giants are being allowed to crush our small businesses. They have so much power and the politicians seem scared to act."
A number of pubs in Glasgow's East End are closing for the WHOLE summer and won't re-open until the new SPL season starts.
The cash-strapped bars are only open on matchdays when Celtic are playing at home - and rely on passing fans heading to Parkhead.
Publican Tommy Muir has run the Fiveways Inn at Bridgeton Cross for 16 years.
The 67-year-old said: "Pubs like the London Road Tavern, Springfield Vaults, Turnstiles, the Black Bull and the Bowlers's Rest are now shut until the football season starts again.
Drink's up ... pubs are having to close on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays due to cheap supermarket booze"They only open on the days Celtic are playing at home and the rest of the time they are shut now.
"Christ knows how they stay in business. Sometimes they can be closed for a fortnight between games. How can they put draft beer and Guinness on? It'd be a pretty stale pint.
"There's plenty of business to go round on matchdays as you have 60,000 fans in the area. It's the rest of the time that's the problem."
Tommy blames politicians for failing to protect the pub trade.
He said: "We employ tens of thousands of people in this country but we're not being given a level playing field.
"I'm not holding out too much hope in the SNP forcing through its minimum pricing on supermarket booze."
Landlord Sean Kennedy has owned the National Hotel, in Dingwall, Easter Ross, for 10 years and is facing the same problems.
He shuts his bar at least one day a week and is furious supermarkets are forcing local pubs out of business - while bars are strangled with rules and regulations.
The 48-year-old said: "There is something wrong when it's cheaper for me to buy my booze out of Tesco than from the supplier.
"The smoking ban brought the industry to its knees and supermarkets are going in for the kill.
"A lot of people have decided 'Why should I go to the pub when I can drink cheap supermarket booze and smoke at home?'"
He added: "I run coach tours and did a package which gave customers a free bar for two hours. The authorities deemed that an 'irresponsible promotion'.
"We're talking about giving our more senior members of society a day out and a beer, a glass of wine and a couple of drams while someone plays an accordion.
"What's more irresponsible? That or supermarkets putting all over the TV 'a bottle of vodka ?9.99 this week'."
In Hamilton, Lanarkshire, local pubs - including Strada, Doherty's and Amigos - are shut on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
One local publican, who didn't want to be named, said: "The big breweries do not understand that trade is dying. If we announce we are closing during the week they say we are not realising the full potential of the premises and hammer us with rate increases."
Colin Borland, of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: "This is a very difficult period for the small independent pub as they are up against supermarkets' very aggressive and predatory prices.
"The rules and regulations at the moment are harming the small guy and it's not something we can allow to continue if we want to be able to pop into our local for a pint in the foreseeable future."
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