After calling time on their Thornton Heath pub, Winston McKenzie, one of Croydon's famous boxing brothers, admitted: "Challenging the criminals just doesn't seem worth it at all."

He told the Guardian that the McKenzie Bros bar and grill which was boarded up following a police raid last December, that saw 25 people arrested on drugs and firearms charges was to be sold and would not be reopening as a pub.

He said: "I'm sure that the decision will please the police who battled along with ourselves to rid the surrounding streets of drugs."

He admitted that, despite some success in cleaning up the drugs problem in the Parchmore Road pub and surrounding streets, it had reappeared six months prior to the raid.

He said Thornton Heath's troubles were caused by people who were new to the area, and thanked locals for their "tremendous support" in helping him and his brother Clinton tackle the drugs problem.

Mr McKenzie was not among those arrested or charged in connection with December's raid, and stressed that of those arrested, 20 were released without charge the following day.

He said: "Any indication that either my brother or myself have anything to do with drugs is totally misleading and incorrect."

As the pub's closure also spells the end for a gym above it, Mr McKenzie said he thought "A lot of local youngsters have lost out."

Turning to his future, he said: "I'm still very involved with the Liberal Democrats and have every intention of standing for MP in the next election."