Ananova:

One resourceful pub landlord has decided to tackle the credit crisis by pricing all the meals on his menu at just £1 - and it's working.

Now the customers are flooding in and trade is flourishing, says Tony Rabbits who runs the Four Crosses in Cannock, Staffordshire.

"Three or four months ago we were really struggling, we thought we would have to give it up," he told Sky News Online.

"Back then we typically had 15 people in for lunch - today I've had 300. Tonight there'll be about 350 people in, whereas four months ago it was 20.

The Four Crosses can accomodate 150 people per sitting and Mr Rabbits has even added a 40-seater marquee to the back of the pub to accommodate all his new customers.

The menu offers a choice of hearty English fayre - soup, pate, cottage pie, bangers and mash, liver and onions, meatballs, chicken and chips - and it's all homemade.

Diners can choose from four starters, 12 main courses and eight different puddings - all for just £1 each.

"We are making a profit by doing everything ourselves, shopping and sourcing the food locally, we've got a local butcher who works along with us," says the landlord.

"We can do some of the items on the menu - things like meatballs and chips or chicken and chips - for 20p or 30p a portion, so we're still making a profit."

The pub is now doing a roaring trade with people travelling from Birmingham and even Liverpool to enjoy the food.

Mr Rabbits told Sky Online: "I think we'll just keep continuing it forever and day - i can see no end to it at the moment."

He says that while "business is booming we are not making a fortune because we have got escalating bills".

"But doing what we are doing we are managing to stay put at the moment," he added.

Next month, the pub faces yet more rising costs with electricity bills soaring to £2,600 a month, he said.

"In November it will go up from 8p a minute to 18p a minute - and that's between four and seven in the evening."

But the enterprising landlord has another plan to deal with this obstacle: "I'm going to get a generator and candles," he tells Sky.

"They are not going to beat us," he chuckled.

"I'll use a generator for the kitchen and candles in the pub. It will be quite cosy actually, especially in the winter. It's a 400-year-old coach house - I think it will look quite nice with the candlelight."