The landlord of a Tottington pub has announced he is to hand back the keys after more than seven years.

The current occupant of the Dungeon Inn on Turton Road announced last month that he is to step down in order to spend more time with his family in France.

Adrian Robbins, who has run the Daniel Thwaites pub in recent years, also cited difficulties for the hospitality sector over the past few years as being partly behind his decision.

Last October, he spoke to the Bury Times about the impact of soaring energy costs on businesses, saying he’d been forced to turn off the lights in the pub in an effort to save money.

In a post on the pub’s Facebook page, Adrian, known as Ade, wrote: “On August 14 I sat down with my area manager and we talked about the next five years and my commitment for the future running of The Dungeon Inn.

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“In the last two years a lot has gone on behind the scenes of the hospitality sector and being apart from my family in France, this has taken the wind out of my sails.

“Unfortunately I cannot commit and fulfil the needs that are required to push the pub forward and so by mutual agreement with the brewery, it is now the right time for me to move onto the next chapter of my life and join Lisa in France.

“I have given notice to Thwaites to end my tenancy agreement.

In a statement, Daniel Thwaites said Adrian will continue to manage the Dungeon Inn until a new tenant is found to take over.

Adrian added: “Although there is no time scale for my departure I will be staying on with my full cooperation in finding the right candidates to take the Dungeon forward.

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“Established darts, dominoes, pool leagues, quiz teams and the newly appointed Rounders ladies are to carry on as normal and be honoured.

“As I've said, I'm not going just yet, with priority finding the right candidates to take over this wonderful, local community pub.

A spokesperson from Daniel Thwaites added: “Our customer Adrian Robbins has been successfully operating the pub via our tenancy agreement for over seven years now.

“Due to family commitments, he has decided to give notice to leave. As there is no notice period, Adrian will continue to run the pub until we recruit a new customer.

“Our recruitment team are currently reviewing all applicants and we hope to have secured a new tenant soon. We’d like to thank Adrian, his team and The Dungeon Inn’s customers for their continued support.”