Welcome to the Dog and Bone, the world's smallest pub inside a PHONE BOX

Last updated at 9:45 AM on 11th July 2011

As pubs close down throughout the country, one village's inhabitants have found a novel solution to the loss of their local - relocate to a redundant red phone box.

Locals angered by the closure of their village pub set up The Dog and Bone alehouse in the phone box, whose floor is only 3ft by 3ft.

A carpenter built a triangular bar for the barman to stand behind and drinkers lined up outside to order their drinks.

Bar staff squeezed into the box in Shepreth, Cambridgeshire, and pulled pints from a barrel under the bar while more than 70 drinkers queued down the pavement, waiting to be served.

Popular: Locals queued down the pavement to get served at The Dog and Bone

The tiny drinking hole, thought to be the smallest in the world, was open on Friday for one night only, to coincide with the village fete.

The unusual alehouse is less than half the size of The Nutshell in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, which is in the Guinness Book of Records as Britain's smallest pub, measuring 16.5ft by 6.5ft.

Alistair Janson, who ran Shepreth's pub, now closed, said: 'We believe this to be the smallest pub in the world and are looking to seek recognition from the Guinness Book of Records. We've lost our pub, The Plough, but the parish council has bought the redundant phone box from BT for a pound.

'We normally have a get-together on the Friday night before the start of the fete weekend, so we thought why not think out of the box and drink in the phone box. It took a little imagination and a bit of cleaning.

Natalia Farmer pulled pints for thirsty punters from a barrel under the bar

'We just want to demonstrate how thoroughly we need a pub in the village, by using the only facility left in the village. We must have had 60 or 70 people there. It was great. When the beer ran out at about 10.30pm we called time.'

He added: 'We might do it again sometime. The powers that be should take note. In Shepreth we can have a good night out in a phone box - imagine what we could do if we got our pub back. Anyone who thinks that a pub isn't viable in this village should think again.'

Villagers are campaigning to stop The Plough, which closed after becoming a restaurant, from being converted into a house. They want planners at South Cambridgeshire District Council to rule that the building, a popular haunt with Second World War pilots, must be used as a pub.