PUB landlords fighting for a fair deal have welcomed a new government report that probes pub industry practices.

Campaign group Justice For Licensees hosted a rallying call for the industry to unite at a meeting in Paignton yesterday.

And they say that the report by the government's Business and Enterprise Select Committee is a great step forward.

It says that pub firms compelling tenants to buy drinks from them should be limited and recommended that the matter should be referred to the Competition Commission.

Paignton licensee Gill Hellewell hosted the meeting at her Coolers Bar and Gallery Nightclub on the Esplanade.

She said: "I think this is a step in the right direction but I am just concerned that the effects of the report will come too late for some."

Mrs Hellewell joined the Justice for Licensees campaign after a pub rent row with her brewery Admiral Taverns.

At the meeting, campaign chairman Inez Ward said that the trade must unite to be rid of government red tape and brewery tactics.

She said: "This trade has to unite to help itself.

"There are plenty of people who think that the pub companies are more of a danger to their businesses than the government."

Pub company bosses were invited to the meeting but did not attend.

Publicans from across the country joined the meeting.

One Northampton licensee said he was currently in a legal row with his brewery.

Another said his hands were tied by high rents.

Fair Pint spokesman Steve Corbett, who is also a tied tenant on his South London pub, said: "Fair Pint was born to stand up for the interests of individual tenants and to highlight the unfairness that so many suffer as a consequence of being tied to the current 'pubco' model.

"We wholeheartedly congratulate the committee for examining the problems tied tenants face with such forensic vigour.

"The fact that the committee found the evidence from the Punch Taverns and Enterprise Inns gave only a partial picture is reflective of the way in which the companies have sought to avoid debate about the effects of the tie on the sector."

Ms Hellewell is currently trying to buy the freehold of her seafront property to free herself from the brewery.

She said: "We have good trade here and for the summer season it is a great spot. We want to stay and hope people will continue as business as usual."

The Federation of Small Businesses, which represents 3,500 publicans, joined Fair Pint in its applause of the select committee's recommendation.

Clive Davenport, Federation of Small Businesses Trade and Industry chairman, who also gave evidence to the committee, said: "Pubs are not just part of the local community they hold the local community together. But we are watching more than 40 pubs closing a week, which affects not just the owners and their families, but the communities around them."