A PUB in a village near York which regulars feared might be lost forever reopens today after recovering from flooding - under a new landlord and lady.

Parish councillors in Acaster Malbis were so worried about the possible loss of the Ship Inn that they recently applied successfully to City of York Council for it to be listed as an asset of community value (ACV), giving it extra protection against closure.

But now Ian Nilsson-Forrest and his sister Robyn have taken over at the pub, which was flooded earlier this month when the nearby River Ouse rose to more than 4 metres higher than normal summer levels.

They posted on Facebook that they had been working hard to clean up the pub and were due to open at noon today, Friday January 27.

"It shall be only drinks for now, whilst we are still dealing with issues in the kitchen to the flooding in the area," they said.

"We look forward to seeing everyone and getting to know you all."

Ian told The Press that their parents ran pubs in Merseyside but the family had long been visitors to the caravan site in Acaster, and knew the Ship Inn well.

When it became available, he and his sister decided to take it on together.

He said the recent floods inundated the cellar and toilets but fortunately missed the main bar area by inches.

The reopening has delighted regulars and local residents. One commented on Facebook: "Wonderful to see The Ship will remain open," while another said: "Thanks for saving the Ship."

A third commented: "Excellent news. Good luck. I hope you will be happy at The Ship. It is a pub with huge potential which has not always been exploited to the full," while a fourth said: "Welcome to our village. Good luck with your new venture."

The Press reported in December how members of Acaster Malbis Parish Council had submitted an application to City of York Council for it to list The Ship Inn as an asset of community value (ACV) after the pub’s last tenant had handed in his notice to the pub’s owners.

Councillors heard that the eighteenth century riverside building was grade-II listed and originally served as a pub for bargees.

An asset of community value is land or property of importance to a local community which is subject to additional protection from development under the Localism Act 2011.

As an ACV, the local community would be informed if the pub was put up for sale, with residents then able to enact the community right to bid, which would give them a moratorium period of six months to determine if they could raise the cash to buy it instead.

Parish council clerk Craig Booth said then that getting the pub listed as an ACV was a “protective measure”. The pub had had several different tenants since it was bought by the pub chain in 2000 and had on occasion been closed for months at a time when it had been without a tenant.

Mr Booth added: “These are uncertain times. You just don’t know if someone’s going to take the risk of becoming a tenant.

“It’s a protective measure in case they couldn’t get a tenant and it was just empty and Enterprise decided to sell the property, because that would leave us high and dry with nothing for us."