Government red tape and tax hikes on beer have been condemned as "economic madness and suicide" that threaten the survival of pubs and breweries.

In an outspoken attack, Jonathan Neame, chief executive of Shepherd Neame, the 300-year old Faversham brewer, warned that excessive taxation at a time of recession would kill off the industry’s small businesses that were so vital to the Kent economy.

Pubs are closing at an alarming rate of six a day and yet the Government had chosen this time, when they were already facing the economic downturn and rising costs, to raise taxes - up 18 per cent in the last six months alone - and impose more regulations.

The price of a pint of beer had gone up 7p at a time when people could not afford to pay any more.

It was being done on the pretext of dealing with binge drinking and alcohol abuse, he said. But all it did was stifle good businesses, community and rural pubs, and good operators.

Mr Neame said: "If this continues, I can foresee a time in five years when a huge number of communities in Kent will have lost their last community facility, will have lost all kinds of potential jobs, will have lost a vital part of our cultural backcloth. I think it’s wrong, everybody in the industry thinks it’s wrong."

He added: "In our industry, we have to fight a number of things, not just the economic downturn but increasingly we have to fight the Government."

The Treasury would get its money but would lose out in the long run as more pubs and breweries closed for good. "This is real economic madness and economic suicide," Mr Neame said.

He claimed the industry has had to cope with 300 pages of regulations since 1997, and they all had a cumulative impact on costs, jobs and profitability.

Now a new code of practice was likely to cost the industry an extra £200 million, or around £1,000 a pub.

The code would make training for all bar staff compulsory. But Mr Neame warned that this would "kill off instantly" the casual labour maket.

Many young people supplemented their income by working in their local pub. "Overnight, in my view, it will completely kill that market which cannot be sensible when people, particularly young people, will be looking for ways of getting on the job ladder."

Mr Neame appealed to the public to write to their MP and back an "axe the tax" campaign. Details at www.axethebeertax.com.