The heart-warming tale of the Sun Inn pub sale

News of a pub sale with a difference reaches us this week, after two residents of a tiny Herefordshire village stepped in to stop their much-loved local falling into the hands of property developers.

Leintwardine's Sun Inn, one of the nation's last parlour pubs, was being put up for sale at auction until local businessmen Gary Seymour and Nick Davis came along with their offer after rallying around to raise the necessary finance. Though the sum they paid for the pub remains under wraps, we do know it was expected to fetch up to £300,000 from eager bidders.

The tale of the Sun Inn pub sale began when owner Florence 'Flossie' Lane - said to be Britain's oldest landlady, aged 94 – passed away in June after 74 years at the helm.

A "Save the Sun" crusade was launched by villagers and backed by the Campaign for Real Ale, whose representatives describe the pub as "a national treasure".

The 200-year-old establishment doesn't have the bar or counter familiar to seasoned pub-goers. More like an old-fashioned living room, customers serve themselves from barrels on the floor and deposit their cash in a jam jar.

Its new owners – one of whom runs a chip shop next door to the pub, and the other a brewery - say they don't plan to change much about the Sun Inn, focusing instead on promoting local beers and ciders.