PIE AND CRASH

As the East End's most traditional 'artisan' dish is threatened by tax hikes and price rises, ADAM TOMS and JOE ROSSITER meet the last traders fighting for economic survival as their numbers dwindle to the dozens

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ON A good day, Noted Eel and Pie House in Leytonstone can sell up to 1,000 pies, with queues stretching out of the door. A "sold out" notice is kept just inside the entrance to the family business, ready for the rushbut this is becoming less frequent.

Just days before the arrival of "awful April" - with essential household bills due to rise Piter Hak, 62, and his son Alfie, 27, are putting the lids on rows upon rows of mincefilled pastry parcels ready for baking in the 64-year-old oven.

It's a sight replayed countless times over the decades, all over London, but potentially not for much longer.

The Pie and Mash Club, a society of gastronomes who rate London's traditional dish, has estimated that there are fewer than 40 venues in London and 76 nationwide.

Many have closed or moved further afield to Essex and Kent, as Cockneys flee the capital and business owners seek cheaper bills.

By contrast, estimates suggest around 300 pie-and-mash shops operated in the capital in the mid-19th century, providing a cheap, filling meal to workers.

Piter calls gas and electric bills the "real killer" for shops and he has been forced to raise prices as a result. "Customers say, 'It's a lot of money. It's gone up.' But we only put it up once a year to try to cover costs.

"The problem is, if you put 20p on a £4 meal, people notice because they come here for a cheap meal. Bigger restaurants can swallow these costs - we can't." Noted Eel and Pie House's economic hardships are due to worsen as it prepares for huge increases in energy, water and council tax bills this month, aside from the £2,000 they already pay annually for their staff parking permits.

Small businesses are also braced for a hike in national insurance, which is rising from 13.8% to 15% on workers' earnings. To make matters worse, the threshold at which employers begin paying NI has also fallen from an annual salary of £9,100 to £5,000.