RESIDENTS are bidding to reopen an historic pub in a North Yorkshire village which has lain closed and boarded up for almost three years.

Villagers in Skelton on Ure, near Boroughbridge, have formed a Community Benefit Society, which aims to raise £250,000 to save the Black Lion.

They are asking people to pledge to buy a share to raise funds to buy the building, which dates back more than 200 years, and open up a welcoming community pub and hub for the village and wider community.

A spokesperson said Admiral Taverns had put the pub up for sale as a going concern or for development, and a small but highly committed group had recently got the pub site listed as an Asset of Community Value by Harrogate Borough Council.

This allowed time to raise funds, but a bid would need to be made within just a few months.

"The financial target of £250k would enable the group to apply for match funding from the Government backed “Community Ownership Fund," they said. "With the helpful support of the Plunkett Foundation the group has now formally become a Community Benefit Society."

They added that shares cost £250 each.

For more info, go to www.skeltonblacklion.com.