Barred punter buys his local pub

A West Midlands pubgoer was so hacked off after being barred by his landlady - he decided to buy the pub.

Tim Platt was a regular at Punch outlet the White Lion in Hampton-in-Arden until he made comments about the food.

"I'd visited the pub for the past 30 years man and boy. It was a sad day when the landlady said I was banned, but there was no atmosphere in there any more anyway."​

Platt said the village local had turned "gastro" and stopped serving decent beer: "It used to be the heart of the community but the food prices meant it was only suitable for destination diners and the beer quality was terrible. ​

I want to carpet the floors, put horse brasses on the walls and restore the place to its former glory​Tim Platt new White Lion licensee.

"I've spent a lot of time researching how to keep cask ales and now they taste great."

Platt had always dreamed of running a pub and when the White Lion came up for sale, he and business partner John Thorne snapped it up.

"I want to carpet the floors, put horse brasses on the walls and restore the place to its former glory - at the centre of the village,"​ he said.

Platt used to run a restaurant in nearby Knowle and the chef has joined him at the Lion.

"We're going to serve modern British cuisine and offer an à la carte service, but we'll bring back traditional bar snacks like pie and chips,"​ added Platt.

He said trade had picked up since he took over last month and he has welcomed the return of familiar faces.

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