A village hall that is transformed into a makeshift pub every week is proving a hit with locals.
The manager of Elston Village Shop, Mrs Kate Blair, came up with the novel idea to host pub nights in the hall after the village local, the Chequers Inn, closed in the summer.
The venture started in September and has been attracting up to 100 villagers on Friday nights, many of whom are parents with young children who use the playing field next to the village hall.
Mrs Blair has a team of volunteers that helps run the bar, which stocks a range of beers, wines and soft drinks cheaper than pub prices. She hosts monthly quiz, karaoke and bingo nights.
Pub nights are also held on alternate Thursdays and are popular with the darts and dominoes teams who used to play at the pub.
Mrs Blair said: "It’s a place where everyone can meet without having a special interest.
"It’s a brilliant atmosphere. We have the pub regulars but also lots of people who would not have gone to the pub.
The playing fields have floodlights so they can be used all year round. We did think it would drop down to once a fortnight but it’s more popular than we imagined."
Mrs Blair plans to open the bar and serve food after the village’s charity football match on Boxing Day, which was traditionally the pub’s busiest day of the year.
From January, pub nights will be held every Thursday and Friday night. Mrs Blair said the money raised from the pub nights was used to help run the community shop, which is also staffed by volunteers.
She said: "If the pub had not gone the shop would have gone. The income from the pub nights is keeping it going."
Mrs Blair said despite this, she hoped the pub would re-open for the village’s sake.
The lease for the Chequers Inn is currently up for sale
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