A “COMMUNITY focal point” will be lost if a Broadstone pub is taken over by JD Wetherspoon, fear residents.

The national pub giant is thought to be in talks for The Stepping Stones, Broadstone.

The pub, on Lower Blandford Road, has been transformed in recent years into a popular community establishment.

Regular charity events are hosted by the venue, which is also used as a meeting place by several Broadstone clubs and teams.

Tony Fisher, a member of the Broadstone Golf Society, one of the groups which uses the pub, said: “It has become a real focal point and hub of the community.

“Thousands have been raised for charity in the last year and it’s a place where everyone feels welcome.

“The current tenants have worked so hard to make it a proper community pub.

“But you fear Wetherspoons will only be looking at its profit margins.”

Currently owned by Hall and Woodhouse, the Blandford brewery confirmed it was in talks with another operator over “reassigning the lease” of The Stepping Stones.

Eddie Gershon, spokesman for Wetherspoons, said the chain would not comment on individual sites, but local people are already planning a campaign to save the pub from changing hands.

“We don’t want to see yet another small, community-centred business swallowed up,” added Mr Fisher.

The Stepping Stones, opened by Toby Inns in 1979, boasts a chequered history.

The landlord was hospitalised in a closing time scrap in 1984, while an attempted arson attack in 1988 was linked to a crackdown on troublemakers.

The pub was named after the ‘broad stones’ laid across the Blackwater stream to enable local folk to cross, one of which was previously displayed outside the pub.