PUNTERS and neighbours welcomed the news that a listed pub in Eldene left to rot for months has been saved.

The piles of litter and long overgrown weeds around the Crumpled Horn are being cleaned up at last to get it ready for a reopening within the next two months.

Hooligans smoking, drinking and smashing glass in and around the listed pub's balcony worried people living nearby and visiting the pre-school and social club next door.

Jeanette Parkin said: "It would have been a shame to leave it go to rot and ruin so I'm glad it will be reopening. Hopefully it will be nicer than it was, a bit more family-friendly."

Patrick Grimes regularly drinks with friends at the social club. He said: "We were all concerned that the pub was going to turn into another Mechanics Institute situation, a decaying eyesore, so we are glad that it will be well-used and lively again."

He and his partner both hoped that some sort of disabled access ramp could be added to the steps to the entrance and to the toilets

The pub's former landlord Ray Foolds told the Adver: "The Crump has always been lively. I'll go back if it opens in the mornings but still come to the club because they've been good to me there.

"The litter and damage around the outside was a problem, large groups of teenagers were hanging around smoking, so hopefully that will stop."

Star Pubs and Bars tried in vain for months to find new managers for the premises. A different brewery now owns the pub and plans to have it packed full of punters once more.

A spokeswoman for Admiral Taverns said: “I can confirm that The Crumpled Horn in Swindon was acquired by Admiral Taverns as part of an acquisition from Star Pubs last year.

“We have assessed the site and are currently progressing with renovations and refurbishment which started last week, with the intention of reopening in due course.”

The previous landlords spent almost two years renovating the post-war local with hopes of turning it into a family-friendly social centre but then decided to move elsewhere and manage a different pub.

The House that Jack Built nursery rhyme inspired the design and roof of the Crumpled Horn, which was built in 1975 and earned a Grade 2 listing from Historic England in 2018.