A 70-year-old man has been left devastated after discovering his three-decade career of hosting quizzes in a Swanley pub is over.

Terry Marsh has travelled from his Whitstable home to the Olympic in Beechenlea Lane every Thursday for the last 30 years.

However last week he was told his services were no longer required - with immediate affect - because the pub is having a revamp and becoming more like a restaurant.

News Shopper: Terry Marsh with regulars Chas Osbourne and Bob Durbridge

After some negotiation, he was allowed to deliver one last pub quiz where apparently some punters burst into tears over the news.

Mr Marsh, who does the 45-minute drive each week after moving away from Kent, told the News Shopper: "The management have opened a real hornet’s 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.

"I’ve received 40 emails just today from people in distress about the news.

News Shopper: Seventy-year-old quiz master told his three decades in Swanley pub is over

Councillor Victor Southern, Chair of Swanley Banqueting Board, said: “The decision to terminate hosting the Thursday night quiz at The Olympic is a commercial one.

“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.

“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.

“Swanley Banqueting needs to get back to the days where it was a really major contributor to the council’s income, allowing us to provide many facilities and services impossible for most towns. 

“The council hopes to expand on these services, but can only do that with a profitable organisation such as Swanley Banqueting supplying the funding.”