A PUB which shut its doors suddenly at the beginning of July has been taken over by new management.

The Major in Ramsbottom is set to reopen on Friday under the direction of Douglas Lingard and his wife June.

New manager Mr Lingard, aged 71, said: "We are excited for this new venture. We have been out of this line of work for a number of years.

"We are really looking forward to meeting new people and getting back into the brewery again. We are aiming for it to be a community pub."

The couple hope to reinstate the poker night, pool team and other sports at the Bolton Street venue, as well as showing SKY and BT sports.

They say they will be "starting gradually", but hope to begin serving food in about one month, and anticipate bringing on new members of staff in the future.

On July 4, the sudden closure of The Major was met with shock in the community. A message on the pub's Facebook page from former managers said it was closing with immediate effect due to "circumstances beyond their control."

Mr Lingard said: "We want to get the pub back up and running."

The Major is due to reopen at 1pm on Friday.