A former pub has been converted to an Indian restaurant and takeaway.

The Crown Inn, which closed suddenly in 2015, has been relaunched as Crown Inn Spice.

Alamgir Alam, 28, who formerly ran Spiceland in Egremont before selling the business and moving to Birmingham, has returned to West Cumbria for this new venture.

He also ran an Indian restaurant in Birmingham which he sold to come here.

He said he had returned to West Cumbria because this was the opportunity to open a family business.

“My brother will be working here, along with an uncle and a friend,” he said.

Mr Alam is originally from Bangladesh but has been in this country for 20 years.

He said his menu will be strictly Indian. “Indian food is very popular in this county so that is what we will be providing. There are some differences between Bangladeshi cooking and Indian but we will only do Indian.”

He will also be doing takeaway food and will be open seven days a week, including serving lunch on Christmas Day.

Mr Alam said that although this is his third business, he intends to stay here for a long time. He is also living in Maryport now.

The Crown, on the Dearham road, was one of Ellenborough’s popular “locals”.

It also provided a meeting place for community events.

The pub’s annual vegetable show was one of the largest in the area and the pub also had quiz, darts and domino teams.

In years gone by they also held bonfire night events on the green in front of the pub.

One Maryport resident, Sharon Barnes, said the pub was known for its friendliness.

“I can attest to that. I was living in Cockermouth when my father came to visit from Manchester.

“My husband Bill and I were looking for a property in Maryport. We dropped my father at the Crown Inn. By the time we returned he had joined the dominoes team – despite the fact he was from Manchester and we were only visiting.”

She said he thought it was the friendliest pub in West Cumbria.

“It was a real community hub for Ellenborough,” she said.

The Crown Inn ceased trading as a pub in November 2015.

Publican John Hunter, who had been at the Crown for 10 years, declined to comment except to say that his lease had expired.