Couple move behind bar they love

Phil and Josie Ruston love their local pub so much that when the landlord called time to sell up and move to Spain they decided to get behind the bar themselves.

Mr Ruston has been drinking in the Royal Oak pub in West Bromwich for 20 years and his wife Josie has been a regular for five.

They have now taken on the licence from former boss John Smallman. "This has been my local for years and it is one of the few what I call 'proper' pubs left in West Bromwich," explained 49-year-old Mr Ruston.

"We have seen one after another close and thought it would be a crying shame if the same happened to this one," he said.

His wife, a former nurse, said: "We have been very busy getting everything ready and have been on countless courses on how to keep the cellar, health and safety, food hygiene.

"This is something I have always wanted to do but never had the opportunity before. What I like about this place is that it is a proper traditional pub, with a lounge and a bar.

"I haven't run a pub before, but I have worked as a barmaid and my mum used to work in the Royal Oak for Bill Tyler in the late 1980s."

Mrs Ruston, 45, will run the pub full-time, while her husband will help out in the evenings, keeping on his day job as a health and safety manager for Allied Bakeries.

The couple, who have moved from Black Lake, West Bromwich, to the pub in Newton Street, officially took over yesterday and celebrated with friends.

Regulars Mike Abell and Alan Lloyd said they wished the couple all the best.

Mr Abell, 60, of Newton Street, said: "I have been drinking in here for about 35 years and I have known Phil for many of those. This is the perfect place to come for a chat and a quiet drink."

Mr Lloyd, 65, of nearby Dagger Lane, said: "I have been coming here for 30 years and am pleased Josie and Phil are taking it over, they're really nice people."

Mrs Ruston added: "We aren't planning to change anything – people like the pub because of the way it is."