A KIDDERMINSTER landlord is aiming to put a town pub on the map with an £80,000 face-lift.

New landlord of Ye Olde Seven Stars, Robin Copeman, hopes the changes will attract more customers to the pub and to the area.

He is also keen to recapture the traditional feel of what is thought to be the town's oldest watering hole by offering real ales.

He said: "We've spent more than £80,000 in trying to restore this pub back to a traditional ale house.

"It had fallen into a poor state of disrepair. The garden was completely overgrown and the floor was covered in grime. However, we have cleaned it up and stripped back the floor to reveal oak boards infilled with mahogany so customers can finally see some of the quality of the workmanship.

"We are also making the pub smoke-free but people are able to smoke in the beer garden. It is probably the largest beer garden in Kidderminster."

Mr Copeman, who used to run The Black Boy Hotel in Bewdley with his wife, Julie, was also a retail director at Alton Towers.

Inspired by the traditional feel of the pub, Mr Copeman, together with business partner, Paul Hazlewood, hopes to breathe new life into the area when the doors open within the next fortnight.

Natural Break owner, Sandra Wolfenden, also hopes to work with the landlord by offering late-night carveries, at her nearby Blackwell Street restaurant, to entice customers leaving the pub.

She said: "We're hoping some of those customers from the pub might come over here after, if they are hungry and try the carvery. I think we need more restaurants down this side of the town to attract more people to the area."