A Carlisle pub landlady has warned that people need to use it or lose it.

Maggie Maxwell, boss of The Currock, tells people she is living the dream - but it’s in danger of turning sour.

“It’s started to be a struggle,” she said. “I’m not confident I’ll be here in a year. And that saddens me. Because I love it. It’s not like a job, this. It’s a way of life.”

Some of The Currock’s problems are those which affect pubs all over the country.

Cheap alcohol in supermarkets is persuading people to drink at home.

Many younger people prefer to drink in town. And some older regulars have died.

Maggie, in charge since 2011, said: “I do still have a good bunch of younger lads who come in and would be very sorry to see the pub close.

“I have a fantastic core of regulars who come in every night. They’re the reason I carry on. But I might have to think about myself. I’m not even breaking even.

“It’s month to month. If I get my bills paid, well done – I’ve survived another month.

“As much as I love this pub and everybody in it, I can’t keep it open for other people.”

Maggie knows that many problems here are caused by lack of money.

She jokes: “I’ve said to them all, when Primark opens I’m buying them all fleeces ’cos I’m not putting the fire on.”

She doesn’t blame people for going into town for cheaper drink, although she sells as cheaply as she can.

The Currock doesn’t have Sky or BT Sport because these cost more than Maggie can afford.

She’d love to have the lounge refurbished to appeal more to women and couples.

For the time being The Currock is a traditional local which appeals mainly to men.

There are darts, pool, snooker and billiards teams. Maggie says this is the only pub in Carlisle with two snooker tables.

The Currock has been a Boundary Road landmark since 1897. Countless Cumbrians have celebrated birthdays, anniversaries and wedding receptions here.

But times are changing. It is now the only pub in Carlisle south of St Nicholas Bridge.

The Rose and Crown on Upperby Road and The White Ox on Durdar Road have gone in the past few years.

Maggie knows people can’t afford to come out every night. She just hopes more will give their local pub a try more often.

“If – god forbid – shutters go up at the windows, people will say ‘Why did a good pub go to waste?’

“Why don’t they come in then?

“You get to the point where you think ‘I don’t know what else to do.’

“What do you do? I keep saying that. If somebody said ‘Do this and it will work out’, I’d give it a blast.”