A PUB in North Yorkshire is turning into living proof that a rural hostelry can become a focal point for its community.

A month ago the Prince of Wales was in the county to launch his "pub is the hub" campaign for country communities.

But in Kirklington, between Bedale and Thirsk, landlord John Haigh is already doing just that with the Black Horse.

The 49-year-old father-of-two, a former IT manager, has already created an art gallery and an Internet caf in the pub, which he took over in October.

And from February 14, it will also house the village post office, replacing the original that closed almost a year ago.

His partner, Jacqui Turner, will run it and the office will operate from 9am until noon on weekdays (9am-11am Saturdays). The couple are also planning to open a village shop at the pub.

They have also launched a fish-and-chip takeaway service on Friday nights, are expanding the pub's existing caravan site, publishing a regular newsletter, creating a pets' corner and introducing novelties such as murder mystery nights, the first of which is on February 15.

"Prince Charles was quite right when he said the village pub could be the hub of its local community," said John yesterday.

"We want the pub to be at the heart of the village and it seems to work. The Internet caf has been amazingly popular - we've even been helping local children work on their school projects on the web."