A VILLAGE pub near Darlington has reopened after extensive refurbishment.

The Fighting Cocks pub, in Middleton St George, has been taken over by Graham and Linda Clark.

The couple, who were residents of the village, have taken the pub on a 21-year tenancy from Enterprise Inns

Enterprise Inns contributed most of the cash towards the refurbishment work, but Mr and Mrs Clark also had to put up a lot of their own money to pay for new fixtures and fittings.

The pub has been completely transformed and now has old prints of the village on the walls, and has a new bar and games area.

Mr Clark, who also owns an exhaust fitting business in Darlington, said: "We used to come into the pub when we first moved into the village and are delighted to have taken it over.