ROMSEY MP Caroline Nokes has toasted the re-opening of a village pub.

Ms Nokes, the vice chairman of the All Party Parliamentary “Save the Pub” Group and a member of the Parliamentary Beer Group, enjoyed a pint with the new landlords of The King’s Arms in Lockerley.

Darren Shorley and James Munday have taken on the lease from Punch Taverns after the previous publican Marcus Pingriff had failed to make a success of the business in The Street.

Both have extensive experience in the hotel trade and Shootash-born Darren, 47, is a former area manager for Holiday Inns.

The pair have overseen a refurbishment of the pub’s interior and re-opened the doors last Friday.

James, 22, will oversee the day-to-day running of the pub as Darren, as just started a new job as a careers adviser with injured servicemen’s charity Help for Heroes.

Apart from a new colour scheme the main change customers will see is the seating.

“We’ve got fewer tables and it’s more casual and informal,” said James, who said there was no longer a distinction between the bar and the dining area.

“People can drink and eat where they want,” he said.

James said it was very important that the pub, which has been closed for six months, re-establishes its role at the centre of village life.

In a bid to forge links with the community, Lockerley art group, Art Seen, are being given wall space in the pub to exhibit their work.

Ms Nokes commented: “It’s great to see the re-opening of the King’s Arms last week and to meet Darren and James the new landlords. The pub can be a real centre of the community and I know they (and their families) have put a massive amount of work into refurbishing and updating the King’s Arms. I really hope the pub will be a success again and provide a lovely venue in the village.”

Up until a year ago Lucy Townsend, who also runs The Greyhound, at Stockbridge, had been the King’s Arms landlady but she was forced to quit when her partner, Alex Lewis, was taken seriously ill with a bacterial infection which led to the amputation of all four limbs.