Battle to save greasy spoons

The traditional British cafe is in danger of disappearing from our high streets, campaigners have warned.

Driven out by the huge rise in the number of coffee shops such as Starbucks and Caffe Nero, old-style 'greasy spoon' cafes are in serious decline.

Research shows one in three people knew of one closing down in their neighbourhood. Organisers of the Save the Proper British Cafe campaign, launched today, say that unless action was taken, most will have gone by 2010.

Paul Harvey, spokesman for sauce makers HP, which is behind the drive, says: 'Britain has already suffered the demise of proper British institutions like the red phone box and the faithful Routemaster bus, which is why it seems so important to start this campaign to Save the Proper British Cafe.'

HP has launched a 'fighting fund' which will be distributed to cafes struggling to compete with large coffee chains.

The company has pledged £5,000 and is encouraging people to show their support at website, www.proper-british.co.uk.

Visitors can sign a petition, nominate their local cafe or buy a limited edition brown rubber wristband for £1.50.

HP quotes the results of a survey of more than 5,000 people, which found three-quarters felt better about spending their money at a local cafe rather than a trendy coffee shop.

And a quarter knew the name of one of the people who worked in their local cafe - but nearly a third knew of an establishment in their area which had recently closed down.

And nearly nine in ten were concerned that their local high street was being taken over by chain outlets.

In London the number of independent cafes has declined by 40 per cent since 2000.

And nationwide, an estimated 2,000 cafes have disappeared in the last two years, with experts fearing most of the remaining 7,000 could go by 2010.

Cafe owners say concerns about healthy eating and the trend towards a Continental-style cappuccino culture had turned many customers away from the traditional fry-up.

But they say 'service and value for money' are the hallmarks of the traditional, unpretentious British cafe.

Clive Pitts, of Greenhill Cafe in Hall Green, Birmingham, said: 'We've noticed business go down, so anything that can get it back up again is a bonus.'

Hassan Ismail, who has run the Little Bafidi cafe, in Peckham, South-East London, for 18 years, says his cafe is 'nothing special', but adds: 'Everybody knows me. The cafe is part of the neighbourhood.'

Maneza Ali, of the Ashton Cafe in Harehills, Leeds, said: 'People are struggling with old-style cafes. There are that many Starbucks and campaigns for healthy eating that little cafes are struggling.'