A NEW era has begun at a once-troubled Caterham pub.
Brian O'Rourke took over as landlord of The Village Inn in Coulsdon Road last week and has vowed to turn the pub around after its "horrendous" problems.
It reopened on Thursday after being shut down since August, following a licensing hearing in June at which its operating hours were slashed by Tandridge District Council.
At the hearing, police catalogued a string of incidents over many months including drug-dealing, drunken fights, late-night noise and vandalism at or near the pub.
Mr O'Rourke, 38, has formerly run pubs in Fulham and Sutton.
He has been a publican for the past 15 years.
He told the Mirror: "This place sounds like it has a horrendous recent past with issues over its late-night licence and the police asking for a review of its operating hours.
"It will be a challenge to turn it around and it may take time, but I'm determined to make it happen."
Since it shut in the summer, "pub closed" signs have been up in the windows.
But delivery lorries re-stocking the pub early last week confirmed to locals that it was to reopen again.
Speaking on Tuesday Mr O'Rourke, a father of three, said he intends to run a "traditional English pub" with food served all day, bringing back the Sunday carvery and installing three TV screens showing sport.
The pub – formerly known as the Caterham Arms – made national headlines in 1975 when it suffered an IRA bomb attack.
No warning was given and a large device exploded in the pub's dance area, injuring 23 soldiers.
Some members of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, who had returned from Northern Ireland, were hurt in the blast, but no one was killed.
