THEY were all set to leave town and make a fresh start elsewhere.

But an opportunity to follow a long-held dream has convinced an Andover family to stay in the Test Valley and make a popular wateringhole their own.

Allen and Helen Watts have signed a 20-year lease at the Railway Tavern on Weyhill Road – and are now investing £150,000 on an extensive transformation of the pub.

The former actors will even re-brand the venue as the Lunar Hare, with the help of tradesmen from around the borough, as well as friends and family members.

The pub has already been completely gutted and the couple hope work will be completed in time to throw open the doors in February 2015.

Allen, 39, said: “When you act you know it’s not going to last, so we put the idea of running a pub on the back burner.

“Then we drove and saw the sign and said ‘we should do that’.

“We were talking about moving away, a fresh start, then this place came up and we thought ‘let’s create a place that we want to go to.’”

And they plan to do exactly that, with Allen revealing a number of quirky ideas to make the new-look pub stand out from its competitors in the town.

Three new chefs have signed up to become a part of the exciting project, with the new layout of the pub allowing diners to see the chefs in action in their kitchen.

Locally sourced furniture will give the wateringhole a chic feel, while the pub’s beer garden will be re-branded as ‘the beach,’ complete with deckchairs and a 1950s caravan for people to enjoy their food and drink in.