Coffee giants Starbucks has closed its well known cafe next to tourest magnet entrance to Canterbury Cathedral.

The business is now locked in a legal dispute over the lease with the Dean and Chapter which owns the building in Burgate.

Cathedral spokesman Chris Robinson said the wrangle was about the length of the lease but he was surprised the company had decided to pull out.

He said: “It always seemed busy so it raised a few eyebrows. It is quite a complex legal situation which lawyers are trying to sort out. The property was sub-let to Starbucks 12 years ago by a company called Old Monk which had previously run a restaurant on the site.

“Unbeknown to us at the time, that went into administration about six years ago and now Starbucks is arguing that it is not bound by the terms of original 30 year lease.”

"But there has already been keen interest in the site because of its high profile location in the city centre."

Starbucks has another branch in St George's Street in Canterbury.