PUB users say housing developers who are calling time on traditional pubs are "ripping the heart from the community".

In the past two months plans have been lodged to knock down four pubs in Lewisham and Greenwich, and replace them with new housing.

Now drinkers fear the great British boozer, once a bastion of the working-class community, is a dying breed.

The latest pub to come under threat is The Royal Eltham, William Barefoot Drive, Mottingham.

Developer Atlasway Ltd has lodged an application with Greenwich Council to knock it down and replace it with 28 flats.

The application also includes plans for a new pub but regulars fear it will not have the same traditional feel as their beloved boozer.

Bill Jeavons, 84, said: "It is absolutely scandalous. We have lost too many pubs already.

"We should not be tearing this sort of place down. It will rip the heart out of the community."

Cliff Adams, of The Underwood, Mottingham, said: "The pub is an essential part of the working-class community around here. There is no reason to knock it down."

Another pub in danger is The Lord Hood, Creek Road, Greenwich, which has been serving pints since the 1820s.

In September News Shopper revealed how a developer wants to knock down the pub and build shops and 105 homes.

George Bridges, who has formed the Save the Hood campaign group, said: "Families have used these pubs for generations for weddings, christenings and other family events.

"My concern is well-established community pubs are being replaced by chain pubs without any character."

Two other pubs The Green Man, Bromley Road, Catford, and The Welcome Inn, Well Hall Road, Eltham, have closed in the past two months.

Applications are in with Lewisham and Greenwich councils for housing developments at these sites.

Royal Eltham regulars were set to register their objections at a Greenwich Council planning meeting on Monday night.