Forty Foot pub, Southey: Pub popular with Sheffield Wednesday fans on matchdays closed and boarded up

A well-known Sheffield pub, popular with Sheffield Wednesday fans, has closed.

The Forty Foot, at the junction of Wordsworth Avenue and Donovan Road, near Southey Green, has been closed since Boxing Day, say residents, after its previous landlord left.

A message on the pub's Facebook page from its manager said: "Boxing Day will be our final day.

"Me and Nicky have decided to move on from the forty foot and have some much needed family time. We have had an amazing time and met some amazing people thanks to all the customers that have made our time there."

The pub was boarded up today, with steel shutters over the windows and doors.

Nearby residents have shared their views on the closure with The Star, and told us it had been a popular place to go on matchdays for Owls fans on their way to Hillsborough.

One told us that the closure meant there was at least a 10 minute walk to get to a pub for people living near the Forty Foot

She said it used to be very popular too but not as popular as it was, and thought it would be greatly missed by its old regulars

She added: "It was really popular when it first re-opened about two years ago because the landlady was running lots of events and had DJs there.

Martin Gelsthorpe, who lives a few streets from the pub, said: "It's going to be disappointing for them on matchdays, as it's been the local first point of meeting for all fans. This is the pub where you go. Everyone uses it, it gets packed."

He said it was a local with older people usually using it in the evenings. There was a certain type of customer at night, he added, but on matchdays it was busiest.

He added that he thought it would re-open, and believed it had only closed because the landlord had moved abroad.

"They're going to be missed, nice family," he added.

Paul Taylor, who lives close by, agreed it would be missed greatly by football fans, and people living close by as well. He said he hoped it re-opened.

The Star has attempted to contact the pub owners for comment.