It is a quintessential part of English village life.

Be it a ramshackle hut or a hi-tech prefab, the village hall is invariably the heartbeat of the rural community.

From weddings to birthday parties, dog shows to dances, the hall provides a focal point for the community.

But new licensing laws are posing a threat to this most English of institutions.

Officials are warning village halls could end up on the wrong side of the law and risk being banned from selling alcohol unless licensees act fast.

Councils are concerned volunteers who run the halls may not have got the message about the need to convert their liquor licences under new laws.

Only a few hundred of the several thousand licensed premises in Sussex have so far applied to switch their licences in accordance with the Government's Licensing Act 2003.

Anyone who has not filled in the correct forms by August 6 will have to start from scratch and apply for new licences, which could costs thousands and would involve sitting tough exams.

If they do not have a new licence by November they will be barred from serving alcohol. They can re-apply but it could be the New Year before the application is processed.

Rural campaigners are urging councils to go easy on village hall committees who may be inexperienced, unaware of the changes or struggling to foot the £1,000 conversion bill.

Brighton councillor Geoffrey Theobald, chairman of the Local Authorities' Co-ordinators of Regulatory Services, which advises councils on licensing matters, said: "I think pubs will be OK. Most of them are owned by big companies who know about these deadlines and the consequences of not getting them in on time.

"My concern is for the smaller operators like community halls. I would advise members to check the status of their licences.

"They may have read them and been reassured because it says valid until 2008, but they are not.

"From November all of the old licences will be invalid and every single licensee will need a new one."

Ian Woodhurst, from the Campaign to Protect Rural England, said: "The function of village halls is often an essential part of community life.

"We would hope that councils will properly consider the financial circumstances of these small committees and their need for a licence before taking any drastic action."