A HAMPSHIRE country pub has shut after its landlords became overburdened due to staffing issues.

The Dove Inn in Micheldever Station had been run by husband and wife team Charlie and Jo Lechowski for eight years until its closure on October 1.

Explaining their choice, Charlie, 37, said: "The decision was obviously hard because this business is like our baby. But it came to be too hard. Mainly it was the staffing issues – we couldn’t find a chef for a very long time and when we found one he left, so my wife ended up doing all the cooking.

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The Dove Inn's building is 200 years old (Image: Google) He added: "The bills were too high and customers change as well. After Covid everything changed. People are looking after their money a bit more."

Charlie and Jo live in the village and their children go to school there, making the decision especially tough.

They are currently thinking of opening a “pub-sitting” business to help other landlords with their pubs should they want to go on holiday.

Speaking of The Dove's former landlord, the building owner Kim Gottlieb said: "They are just the most delightful couple. They have been there for the best part of eight years. They put a huge amount of work into the place. They had to suffer the cost of living crisis, Covid and everything else over the past few years. They did their very best and they are very popular with the locals. It’s a very difficult industry."

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Kim, who has owned The Dove for about 20 years, explained the difficulties surrounding running the pub and the cost of refurbishing the building, which is 200 years old.

He said: "The building needs a huge amount of investment. It’s on the market with Christie and Co at the moment. They’re trying to find a new occupier. We have been working on various planning ideas to increase the number of bedrooms. We have had enquiries for a range of uses."

Christie and Co have put the pub on the market as a freehold £790,000, as a leasehold for £20,000, or to rent for £45,000 annually.