Swanley punters opposed to the axing of a pub quiz which has run for 30 years have taken their protests one step further.
Regulars at The Olympic in Beechenlea Lane reacted angrily to a report in last week’s News Shopper revealing 70-year-old quiz master Terry Marsh was being turfed out of his weekly spot.
His supporters held a protest on Thursday, arriving at the pub wearing customised 'Save Our Quiz Night' T-shirts.
Regular quiz player Jenny Christmas, of Egerton Ave, Hextable, said: "There is not much to do around here and we all go to this as a family - they have taken that away from us.
"It is really sad. Why have they done this?
"I have been going for years and years - my parents have been going for at least two decades."
The 41-year-old said: "It's the one thing I do socially, I don’t do anything else - I have kids.
"The fact they are getting rid of it to make it more of a restaurant is ridiculous."
Mr Marsh has travelled from his Whitstable home for the last 30 years but now the pub, owned by Swanley Banqueting, is having a revamp and being "upgraded".
After some negotiation, he was allowed to deliver one last pub quiz where apparently some punters burst into tears over the news.
Mr Marsh told News Shopper on April 14: "The management have opened a real hornets nest by closing the pub quiz down.
"Some people have been coming for 30 years and have become my friends, they were crying when they heard the news.
Swanley Banqueting Board chairman Councillor Victor Southern said: "The decision to terminate hosting the Thursday night quiz is a commercial one.
"We have spent a lot of money in upgrading the fixtures and fittings in all the Swanley Banqueting venues, especially at The Olympic and we have now reached a point where we must maximise our assets and resources for the overall benefit of our 18,000 residents.
"The council has paid a quizmaster to run this for many years pretty much as a community service as the costs were much greater than any income from bar sales."
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