THE former landlady of a York pub which closed earlier this year has confirmed that it will NOT be reopening.

Donna Emmett, who ran the Bay Horse in Main Street, Fulford, from 2019 until the end of January, told The Press she had been told by the building's owners that it had been sold to a developer.

She said she had decided to give up the tenancy of the pub last September because of falling custom -probably due to the soaring cost of living - at the same time as her own bills were rising, and the problems had worsened through the autumn and winter.

"It was costing me more to run the pub than I was making," she said.

A regular at the Bay Horse of 20 years told earlier today how he feared it had shut for good, and how its closure was a great loss to the community.

Donna said someone locally had been interested in taking over the pub and had come quite close to doing so before her landlord told her it had decided instead to sell the property to a developer.

A picture taken by Donna earlier this week shows pumps and coolers after being removed, lying on the floor in the middle of the bar, where generations of customers used to down pints and chat.

She added that she was selling off items including stools, chairs and commercial kitchen equipment, in an open door session open to anyone, at noon today.(Friday).