But if you have coeliac disease, or a wheat intolerance, you could well go home hungry because there is nothing on offer you can eat.

Now a village pub is changing that by becoming one of very few places to offer a special gluten-free menu.

Steve and Amanda Martin from the Acton Crown took the unusual step after discovering the problems faced by people who cannot eat gluten, which is contained in wheat, rye, and barley.

"We found out because the husband of Lesley Hood, who helps my wife with the cooking, has coeliac disease," said Steve.

"You would be surprised how many people suffer from it. Avoiding gluten might sound quite easy but then you realise how many things contain it. There is so much they can't eat.

"Lesley told us she and her husband love to eat out but sometimes there is nothing at all on the menu he can eat. That was what gave us the idea.

"Since we started trialling the new menu a few weeks ago we have found out some of our other customers have coeliac but had never said anything, so it has been going down well."

The menu offers filled jacket potatoes, grills, pasta dishes and omelettes, served with salads, plus a choice of desserts. There is even a home-made apple crumble.

"You can get gluten-free flour and pasta in supermarkets now, so that's no problem," said Steve who has been at the Crown for four years.

"When we make up the special dishes we don't cook anything else at the same time, so there's no chance of cross-contamination.

"I think what we are doing is quite unusual. I've been told there may be one other place in Suffolk that caters specifically for people who can't eat gluten."

About one in 100 people has the auto-immune condition that can cause stomach problems, weight loss and anaemia.