A WEST Fife hotel and bar is due to shut its doors for the last time next month after trading conditions forced its owner to call last orders.

John Lessels has been running the Queens Hotel for more than 15 years, however he announced this week that the bar will close for the final time on September 3.

Posting on the business' Facebook page, he said. "It is not a decision that was made easily and all the staff are still trying to come to terms with it all at this moment, we would like to thank all our customers past and present for there continued support and will hopefully still see you all out and about.

"A big huge thanks to all the staff at the Queens over the years and good luck in your new adventures, won't be the same without team Queens."

John said that while he was saddened to shut up shop, the business had struggled to cope with the effects of the covid lockdown.

"It never recovered from covid. We used to get a lot of contractors and people from the dockyards so just generally speaking, the lack of our bread and butter customers," he explained.

"They in turn helped the bar. They would come in and it was their palace where they would congregate and spend their time but these guys are no longer with us "It is just poor trading and lack of support. The way these hotels are, they cannot be upgraded to meet the standards that people look for today.

"There are no ensuite rooms and the bar is too small and all those sort of things add up."

Over the years, the Queen's Hotel has been a central location for organisations to meet up.

"We have supported local groups," added John. "It is the place where the community met and had their wee meetings and we supporting the Highland Games with the beer tent and did the high teas for the Lammas.

"It is a lovely building and there has been a hotel there for many years and through the wars, it served all the naval people who were about the town years ago."

Local councillor David Barratt said the closure was "sad news" for the town.

"The Queens has played a big part in the life of Inverkeithing," he said. "They have supported countless community groups with meeting spaces and have always done their bit for the town."