CELEBRITY referee Jeff Winter helped celebrate the reopening of a pub whilst fundraising for Zoe's Place baby hospice.

Mr Winter, a former Premier League referee who has published a book on his matchday experiences, cut the ribbon to officially reopen the Poverina pub in Normanby.

The venue had been shut for a week to enable extensive refurbishment work to be carried out.

In has since undergone a £100,000 transformation and landlord Peter Shipp used the re-opening on Saturday as an opportunity to raise funds for the nearby baby hospice.

The pub held a raffle with an assortment of high-value prizes on offer, including signed memorabilia donated by Middlesbrough Football Club.

So far the raffle has raised around £300 with more money expected to pour in.

Zoe's Place is an independent children's charity providing palliative, respite and end of life care to babies and infants aged up to five-years-old who are suffering from life-limiting or life-threatening conditions.

It was announced in June this year that the charity became a partner of Middlesbrough FC and the club's children's replica shirts bear the Zoe's Place name.