A PUB says it is being forced to alter its menu to cater for more exotic tastes as its customers ditch traditional English fare.

The Brinkburn pub, in Darlington, County Durham, has just launched a new menu to respond to changes in the nation's eating habits.

It comes in the week that the last English restaurant in the French capital of Paris was forced to close due to lack of demand.

Pub bosses at the Brink-burn say that they intend to keep English staples such as fish and chips, steak and chips and roast beef and Yorkshire pudding.

But they claim that changes in lifestyle, such as holidaying abroad and eating more foreign takeaways has led to increased demand for "more varied and exotic foods".

Hence the Brinkburn's new menu will now include more contemporary choices.

A spokeswoman for brewers Scottish and Newcastle Retail said: "We're introducing things like lamb kebabs, butter chicken masala and chilli nachos. "It's simply in response to changes in what people want to eat."

Robert Pattinson, manager of the Brinkburn, said: "The menu was launched last week and we have already received positive feedback on it."

A few miles away, at the Old Farmhouse Inn pub and restaurant, in Middleton-St-George, assistant manager Nathan Griffin said it was happy to stick with its English menu.

He said: "It would be a bit of a shame if we were even-tually to get rid of everything English. People come here for the traditional pub menu and the English style atmosphere. The best thing is to have a bit of combination.