PROTESTORS fighting the closure of a landmark pub fear their hopes of saving it may have been dashed.

Less than two months ago, the Save The White Horse group thought they had won a two-year reprieve for the pub and hotel, in Harrowgate Hill, Darlington.

But it seems their hopes have been short-lived after they discovered the building has been put up for sale.

The site has been advertised with Durham estate agents JW Wood for £1.75m.

To the dismay of campaigners, the sales literature describes the hotel as an outstanding development opportunity.

The group was formed in March last year after a planning application to demolish the building and put 55 apartments on the site.

Darlington Borough Council has approved the planning application.

But the hotel seemed to have received a stay of execution in March when the manager said it would remain open for two years.

Gill Cartwright, from the Save The White Horse group, said: "It is very much a kick in the teeth after all the efforts we put into the campaign.

"We were really gutted when we found out. We rang round and told a lot of people who were involved.

"Particularly after all the comments made six weeks ago, a lot of people were celebrating. People thought The White Horse was saved for two years."

Despite planning approval being given for the redevelopment of the site, the protestors held a referendum in the Whessoe parish.

Ninety-seven per cent of voters opted to keep the hotel open, though the result has been branded meaningless.

Manager Sue Bennett remained defiant over the latest move. She said it was merely an exercise to see how much the land was worth.

She said: "These things take a long time to sort out.

"We hope to stay open as long as possible. We are working as hard as possible to keep it open and make it work."

Owner Jay Patel said: "We wanted to run it up to the end of this year. Figures have been down since Christmas.

"We are not saying we are selling; we want to achieve a land value."