Brian Rees is one of that small nucleus of licensees who are

Rees of the action Standing outside the Lord Palmerston in the backstreets of Deptford, South London, is an old E-reg silver Volvo estate that is getting close to clocking up 800,000 miles.

A vast chunk of this mileage ­ eight times round the clock on two engines ­ has been driven by knight of the licensed trade Brian Rees, travelling the length and breadth of the country to help fellow licensees.

Now approaching his 67th birthday in March, this energetic licensee, who took his first pub in 1971, is showing no signs of easing up ­ like the Volvo there is plenty of mileage left in him yet.

Brian is one of an elite band of highly-experienced negotiators who is prepared, on the call from a licensee in trouble, to clamber into his car and travel to help them out at no personal gain.

Most weeks he is left out of pocket, sometimes up to £100 in petrol money.

But doggedly says that he has never claimed one penny from trade bodies for such work.

But Brian is the first to admit that times have changed a great deal from the days of tenant streaming when he was a leader of first Charrington, and then the Bass, national streams.

He then negotiated with the brewery bosses, many of whom he got to know as trade friends, gaining a reputation as a "hard talking but courteous" representative, working on behalf of some 6,000 licensees at one time.

Nowadays, Brian is still optimistic for the future and confident of being able to continue dealing successfully with the new regime of pub owners.

"Rents are the main issue and we have been very successful fighting for better deals.

I appreciate the companies seeing us and discussing our grievances ­ I have never had the door shut in my face and never come away with nothing."

But the old warhorse cannot help but look back and think that perhaps those years through the 1970s and '80s were "the good old days" that will never return.

"In many ways it is so disappointing to see benefits that we fought for and won over the years being eroded in the wake of the Beer Orders.

"These took away a lot of our rights and allowed companies to ride over the trade roughshod, without regard to licensees, their homes, pensions and children in schooling.

It all went to the wall with the full repairing leases and other impositions.

Higher rents put many out of the trade.

"My old landlords, Bass ­ despite saying they would always have the interest of their licensees at heart ­ sold out to Punch.

And we have since watched successive governments letting the new pub companies make us more tied than ever.

"Most of our brewing heritage has been sold off.

And now the trade is more monopolistic than ever.

Unfortunately, I tend to feel that the principle of trust that we had between us no longer exists."

But the work goes on.

In a couple of weeks before the busy Christmas period, this active licensee found time to carry out several rent reviews across the south east in Hampshire, Sussex, and and Kent.

In deference to pub owners, Brian would never give details of individual cases or how much he had saved troubled licensees, but over the years it must amount to hundreds of thousands of pounds.

But although this tireless worker has never sought recompense for his efforts, he is very proud that several LVAs, including Dartford, Bromley, Peckham & Camberwell and the latest, Hastings, have all made him an honorary member in recognition of the help he has given to their members.

And he is still working on behalf of his own association at Blackheath where he has been chairman a record four times.

The last banquet at the Painted Room, Greenwich, saw a massive turnout of 400 guests, many attending to honour their local trade protectionist.

"There is still so much to do for groups like the Parliamentary Committee, which I helped to form back in the '90s to give us one trade voice in the corridors of power.

When we started off, meetings were held in motorway cafés.

In those days, I was lucky to work with a group of like-minded people such as Billie Sharp, Tony Payne, Pat Kerry, Mike Levenson and Terry Oates.

Many are still very active.

"And there are still vital issues for us to pursue.

I am now involved in the Kent Forum through the county Federation, which is liaising with local councils to formulate what will happen when new legislation comes into effect.

"I have my reservations and personally think it will take longer than anticipated to bring about this long-awaited reform.

But there is still so much other work to be done on the legislation front as well as health and hygiene and a whole raft of other issues affecting the trade.

There has never been a more critical phase in the life of licensees and more should be joining their local LVAs and regional bodies to help us with the fight in getting back what we have lost.

"Organisations like our own London and South East-based Guild of Master Victuallers can do so much for members.

While unable to condone anything that breaks the terms of a licensee's lease agreement, such as as buying out', which should be a thing of the past, there are other possible misdemeanours that we can defend.

"There have been cases in which the licensee would have been out on the street if we had not been involved.

We have managed to convince the companies that they should stay with no comebacks.

With the formation of these colossal pubcos, I can only see us getting more work in assisting licensees."

It was his love of boxing that saw Brian take his first pub in South London 33 years ago.

He recalls: "I knew Beryl Gibbons, the only woman boxing promoter in Europe.

She was running the Thomas a' Becket in the Old Kent Road, where Henry Cooper and a lot of other famous fighters trained in the ring at the pub.

When she took over the Walmer Castle in Peckham, she asked me to be a partner in the business ­ and that was my introduction to the licensed trade, after leaving school and training as a butcher."

Three years later, Brian went out on his own, taking the Queens Arms, a Charrington tenancy in Lewisham.

He moved to the Lord Palmerston, Deptford, in 1985.

It is mainly a drinkers' local ­ one of a fast-disappearing breed ­ although Brian does offer a range of pub grub.

It is a local for supporters of Millwall, whose fans are often regarded as troublesome.

But the amiable licensee, who was brought up in and supports West Ham, has never experienced one hint of trouble over nearly 20 years ­ "the only damage has been on the ear drums!"

Like so many south London pubs, it organises a host of fund-raising events collecting up to £3,000 annually.

And, of course, Brian has been a Licensed Victuallers National Homes member since 1976.

He praises his wife, Jean, their daughter, Dawn, and their son, Andrew, saying they are often left to cope when he goes away on important trade business.

"It would have been impossible to have done my work over the years without their backing," he points out.

And any thoughts of retirement?

"Obviously it's in our minds when you get to our age, but at present, I like to think of the future in the trade."

FACTFILE FAVOURITE TIPPLE:

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The Godfather NEWSPAPERS:

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