A COMMUNITY has come together to save the King Canute pub after it was sold to developers.

Worried residents started a petition to keep the pub, in Canvey Road, after operator Stonegate Pub Company sold it to a mystery developer.

The pub, which was used as a base for the Armed Forces during the 1953 flood, will close on Sunday, May 18.

However, in just 24 hours, more than 200 residents have signed up to an online campaign to try to stop development on the site.

Debbie Williamson, from Canvey, wrote on the website: “It’s so sad. It’s a great landmark, not just for Canvey, but for England.

“People have heard of this all over the world because that’s where the water stopped in the floods and started to go back.

“Next it’ll be the Dutch Cottage has got to go.”

Staff working at the pub have been told and been offered jobs in other Stonegate pubs.

Rumours are circulating about who has taken ownership of the building, but the company is remaining tight-lipped over who it was sold to.

Supermarket giant Tesco and Wetherspoons have already denied having any interest in the site.

Susan Hawes, from Canvey, said: “It’s a piece of the island’s history and I’ve visited it many times over the years.

“Too many of the island’s historic buildings are being torn down. Please leave them alone.”

Former Canvey resident Nikki Gaskin, from Benfleet, said it would be a “travesty” if the pub was torn down.

Councillors on the island are also fighting to get the building listed to protect it from demolition.

To sign the petition, visit www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/ castle-point-boroughcouncil- save-the-king-canutepublic- house