Drinks are flowing again in a village pub after it reopened its doors following weeks of closure.

The Wheatsheaf Inn at Abbeytown, near Wigton, has welcomed back customers after being taken over by butcher Tony Harrison.

Boards had been up over the doors and windows at the pub since September after its previous tenants left the premises.

The pub's absence had left a huge hole in the village's social scene, with no other inn nearby.

The pub was on the market with the chartered surveyor and commercial property agent Mere Commercial, carrying a guide price of £180,000.

Mr Harrison runs a butcher's shop in Cockermouth's Main Street and has had Ye Old Greyhound Inn at Bromfield, near Wigton, for more than 20 years.

Villagers turned out in force to help usher in a new era for the pub and celebrate its reopening.

Mr Harrison, who lives in Bromfield, near Aspatria, and his family laid on an evening of live music with a buffet for villagers and other customers.

"It was really busy," Mr Harrison, 47, told The Cumberland News .

"We are well-known in the area and have got a bit of a following but the majority of the people there were from the village plus a few friends and relatives.

"The response has been really good, it's been quiet through the week but both Friday and Saturday were busy.

"We had a county pool match in on Sunday and that was a good afternoon.

"The people watching got a plate full as well as we put on some food, it's just to make people feel welcome."

The Greyhound at Bromfield is renowned in the area for its quality food but Mr Harrison said it won't be until January or February when The Wheatsheaf starts serving meals.

The Abbeytown pub was closed for about two months and Mr Harrison got the keys on November 14 before embarking on a makeover of the building.

"It was shut and boarded up, it was a shame to see it like that. It was up for sale and we thought we would put an offer in," Mr Harrison added.

"Me and my wife Liz have got four kids, three girls and a boy, and the plan is when our son comes back from his travels he will move in there.

"We've had some help from the people who worked in there before under the previous tenants.

"The locals have been really good. I think they're chuffed to bits it's open and anything they can do to help they will because they want it to stay open."