A VILLAGE pub in York which mysteriously closed last month is set to be re-opened under a new landlord.

Paul Gardner, who also runs The Terrace, on the corner of Fossgate and Stonebow in York, and The Windmill, in Blossom Street, has taken on The Cross Keys, in Common Road, Dunnington.

The Press told earlier this month how the sudden closure of the Cross Keys had left local residents baffled when it shut its doors late last month without advance warning.

Regulars said they had not heard from the previous landlord, Eddie Tonks, since then.

Dunnington residents said at the time they were shocked to discover the pub was no longer open with one regular saying the landlord had disappeared in the middle of the night. The bulk of the property inside the building appeared to have been taken away and the furniture had gone.

A spokesman for the Spirit Pub Company, which owns the site, told The Press at the time that “relationships had broken down”.

Paul, who previously ran Dunnington's other pub, The Greyhound, said being a local resident himself he wanted to take on the pub and give it a new lease of life.

He said: “I have lived in the Dunnington area for nearly 40 years and have owned the Greyhound pub for ten years, so for me it is a case of coming home.”

Paul said: “We have a lot of work on our hands, but I am looking forward to it”

He said keys and a contract had been exchanged and handymen were now working flat out in a bid to reopen the doors within a fortnight.

His partner, Diane Brown, will be the new licence holder and will run the pub.

A full refurbishment is then planned for the New Year.