A man who met the love of his life at a Wimbledon pub ten years ago believes there is still a place for the establishments, despite a rapid rise in the number shutting down for good.

Simon Kershaw first met wife Neralie in 2008 at the Prince of Wales when she was working behind the bar.

Despite his best efforts, it took a couple weeks for her to warm to him.

"I go up to the bar and ask for a couple of Doombars," Simon said.

"She says from Australia and we get into a conversation.

"I mentioned an archaeology book and said next time I was in the pub, I would bring the book.

"Little did she know, I only came back for her."

Things progressed so quickly that Simon eventually popped the question two years later, and by 2011 the pair were married.

He shudders to think what might have been, had places like the Prince of Wales or Bertie's Bar, where he and Neralie frequently visited, hadn't been there.

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"Who knows if we would have met," he said.

"We both like going out to pubs, so there is certainly a chance.

"The good thing about pubs is you get to have a proper conversation and not be drowned out by lots of loud music."

It was recently revealed that since 2010, the number of pubs open in Merton had dropped from 65 to 45.

Britain's Beer Alliance, a group of organisations in the pub and brewing sector, has started a campaign called Long Live the Local with a petition and calls for people to write to their MP to have beer duty reduced, thus giving locals a greater shot at staying open.

Brigid Simmonds, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said: "We are calling on the Government to cut beer duty in the upcoming November budget.

"Seven in ten alcoholic drinks sold in a pub are beer, so cutting beer duty is the most direct way of helping pubs. This is why we are backing the Long Live the Local campaign to cut beer tax."

Simon said that while this was certainly an issue, boozers also needed to adapt to the changing environment.

"Pubs provide a community service," he said.

"They don't have to be about drinking. Now you can get coffee and decent food, which wasn’t the case where I group up at it was beer and that was it.

"If pubs continue to close, it will be a sad day because some do provide a really good service, although others sometimes ignore the changing lifestyles.

"You also have supermarkets who sell cheap booze. The pub has lost some of its roles, but I think the role it can still have is a community space."