The former landlords at a popular pub have announced they have handed back the keys to start a new venture.

Lisa Moore, 39, ran The Victoria in Walshaw with her husband Richard but has now left for pastures new after first taking over the business five-and-a-half years ago.

They’re now focusing the Cosalea on Walshaw Road, which originally opened during lockdown which features a café and bar.

They have also opened a second site not too far away on Brandlesholme Road.

Lisa said: “We went to the Victoria just over five years ago and it was to bring the Vic back to the village, that’s what we set out to do, very family orientated and very much there for the community.”

“The team around [us] employed lots of local people and that was great to see.”

Lisa and Richard leased The Victoria from Stonegate in 2017 but later decided they needed “a new challenge” and wanted to find a place to open their own brand.

Lisa said: “Now we’ve opened our own place, we have a Cosalea on Walshaw Road which is a café Bar.

“We initially opened that during lockdown as café on its own and we then gained an alcohol licence and we opened with a refurb last October and we have a bar so we’ve opened with an evening offering as well as a café.”

In her new local, Lisa hopes to keep her ties to the local community strong and will continue to hold events, classes and meetings using the space.

“We have a small space within Cosalea that we can use for community events and different things “We’ve also got a recently opened Cosalea site in Brandlesholme," she said.

Looking back on her time at The Victoria, Lisa says she is 'so proud” of the work she and her family put into the pub and says best part of her time there was being part of the community.

“I think the community stuff will always stand out for us and just the impact you can have on a community through a village pub.”