Last orders have been rung for the final time at one of Shipley's oldest pubs.

The Bluebell on Leeds Road, Windhill, has been a pub for almost 200 years but its owner, Midlands-based Enterprise Inns, has now sold the building to a developer with the final pints pulled by tenant manager John Manning and his wife Genieve during a farewell party. Mr Manning, 37, who took over the pub last December, said: "It's a great shame because it's been a centre for community life since it was built in the early 1800s. We've got a lot of customers who've been coming in for 40 or 50 years and they're not happy because it's the end of an era."

An Enterprise Inns spokes-man said: "As a community-focused pub operator it is always Enterprise Inns' intention to ensure its pubs remain operating wherever possible.

"However, very occasionally certain properties do not prove themselves to be commercially viable and, unfortunately, the Bluebell is one of those pubs. We'd also like to stress that we are investing heavily into pubs in the surrounding area.''

The Bluebell's closure coincides with news, revealed by the Telegraph & Argus, that JD Wetherspoons has put its Shipley pub - The Sun Hotel - up for sale less than three years after it was opened with a £450,000 re-vamp.