A pub landlord who ran a landmark drinking hole for six years said he got out of the business when he realised Hounslow had changed too much.

Last Orders: Life As A Pub Landlord, by Chris Pitts, is an eye-opening account of life at the Duke of Cambridge pub in Hounslow.

After buying the pub in 2000, the Bedfont-born landlord sold it in 2006 to "save his sanity". The public house next to the bus garage is a Hounslow landmark.

Over the years Mr Pitts, who now lives in Twickenham, said he experienced a police raid and trouble with gangs of Poles, Lithuanians Albanians, local gangsters and gypsies.

"But there were plenty of laughs, wind-ups and tears involving the many great characters who passed through the doors," he said. "Thank God I don't have to deal with that any more.

"There were some great times but there were also so many problems running a pub in an area like that, close to the bus garage - you were always waiting for the next incident to happen.

"Hounslow has changed so much over the past couple of decades and this was reflected in the pub.

"You could never truly relax because it was such an explosive environment. You never knew when the next problem was going to walk through the door."

A website, pubglorydays.com, has been created to mark the release of the book. Last Orders: Life As A Pub Landlord is published by Athena Press.