Hopes of saving a beloved Thornton Heath pub have once again been dashed.

It had been previously reported that the Flora Sandes would be closed sometime in 2018.

This sparked outrage amongst the community, with an online petition to save the pub gaining more than 300 signatures as of writing this.

On the petition's website it said: "Thanks to JD Wetherspoon we have, at the heart of busy and vibrant Thornton Heath, a meeting place which is regularly full of people from all walks of life, all cultures, all ethnic groups and all ages who can enjoy excellent food and drink at affordable prices. It is called The Flora Sandes.

"As regular customers, we feel aggrieved at the thought of losing our pub if Wetherspoon’s terminate the lease which has 20 years left to run.

"If our pub closes there will be nowhere else in Thornton Heath where pensioners, young families, single women, disabled people, shoppers, office workers, football supporters and passengers from the railway station can sit, talk, eat, drink and feel at home."

But a job posting on the Wetherspoon's website gave a glimmer of hope that the pub may indeed be here to stay.

The job listing, for the Flora Sandes, said: "we want fun, enthusiastic, confident and passionate people who are not afraid of hard work.

"We recruit our team for their personality and as a UK top employer with an award winning training program we know we can teach anyone the skills to succeed."

With no mention of the pub's closure in the advert, the question was then posed to Wetherspoon's of whether plans to close the pub had changed.

This was not the case however.

Wetherspoon's spokesman Eddie Gershan said: "There is not an exact date yet for the closure, at the moment it will be closing in May.

In terms of hiring, all staff will be offered a transfer to local pubs when the pub closes."