A PARTY was held at the Three Kings in Hanley Castle last Saturday to celebrate the fact that the pub has been in the same family for 90 years.

More than 200 people turned up to help the Roberts family usher in their 10th decade behind the bar.

"Everyone who came seemed to enjoy the evening," said licensee Sheila Roberts. "We had live music, courtesy of regular customers Doug and Ann, along with a buffet.

"A lot of regulars came along, as well as people we don't see so often. Everyone wished us well for the next 90 years."

The pub first came into the family in 1911, when Fred and Ethel Roberts bought it. Their son, George, Sheila's husband, took over from them. Sheila, in turn, plans to hand the licence on to her daughter, Sue, who now does the lion's share of the work.

Mrs Roberts said she was pleased that the pub had remained in the family for so long.

"It's becoming increasingly rare nowadays to have a pub that doesn't regularly change hands," she said. "We like to keep ours as traditional as possible and stock only traditional ales."