A MUCH-LOVED village pub which like it may have to close is under new management.

The previous temporary manager of the Blue Bell at Bishopton, near Stockton, Jeanette Thompson said she had to raise money to pay staff to keep the place going.

Ms Thompson, 47, of Newton Aycliffe, had worked at the pub as a barmaid but took over after the previous tenants left in September.

She became exhausted and appealed for money to pay for help, raising about £160 from a collection bucket and a raffle. However a new tenant has now been found to run the pub and she has left.

Ms Thompson, who ran pubs for 18 years and now works as a barmaid at The Buck Inn at Sadberge, near Darlington, said she was pleased to be able to pay people, some of whom had given their time for free, before she left.

She said: "I will miss the people there and the whole place. It was nice to pay the staff before I left. For example there was someone who came in to help with the karaoke and we had a chef who jumped behind the bar to help out. It was nice to be able to pay them."

The tenant of the Blue Bell declined to give his name but confirmed he had taken on the running of the pub.

The Blue Bell is owned by Hawthorn Leisure who bought it as one of 275 pubs across the country in a recent deal with the Greene King group.