On a chilly autumn evening the pubs on the edges of the moors come alive with the sounds of celebration after a good day’s shooting. 

But this year those same pubs lay empty, as a shortage of grouse saw 70 per cent of the shoot days in the North of England cancelled. 

With the season coming to a close on Monday, it can be revealed that the shortage has cost rural areas millions in lost income. 

The vibrant shooting community, which moves into remote moorland areas just as the tourists begin to move out, has in some places disappeared entirely.