MEET the new landlord of a beloved community pub with years of experience as a publican despite being in his 20s.
Sam Roberts, 27, has taken over as the landlord of The Worcester Arms, London Road, after Tim Perks called final orders in March.
Mr Roberts grew up a stone's throw from the pub in Battenhall and has been the landlord of The Alma, Lowesmoor, for the past six years.
Mr Roberts said: "I have always liked this pub, I grew up around here.
"I worked the opening night for Tim when he first took over, I think he did a great job here and I really like the community aspect.
"I want to see if I can continue it or move it forward a little bit in the next few years."
Mr Roberts is no stranger to behind the bar. Aside from managing The Alma from the age of 21, his father used to work in The Mount, London Road and is now a landlord in St Johns.
With his experience and knowledge of running pubs, Mr Roberts is not looking to make any drastic changes in the first couple of months, instead opting to listen to the pub's regulars.
He said: "We are just going to reopen first and see how it goes from there.
"I would like to meet some of the customers, new and old, and see what they would like out of their local.
"This includes keeping the current name of the pub: The Worcester Arms.
"I like the name The Worcester Arms, it is better than the Sebright Arms, which is what it used to be."
Mr Roberts opened up on his love of working in the industry, and why he became a landlord at such a young age: "I have always enjoyed the customer-facing role and everything that goes with it.
"I also like being self-employed which comes with its own bonuses."
Around a week after Mr Perks' last day behind the bar, Mr Roberts was given the keys and set to work preparing the pub for opening day.
The Worcester Arms will reopen for first time with Mr Roberts as landlord on Friday (May 2) at 6pm.
