KELLY Johnson has been landlady and chef at the While Bull in Oswaldtwistle since September 2016.

The 33-year-old, who has worked in the industry for two decades years and helping her family run pubs since she was eight said the key to running a successful pub is moving with the times.

Kelly, and her parter Pete, used to run The Plough in the town, before taking the reins at the White Bull.

Last year they were named best gastro pub/restaurant in the 2017 Lancashire Telegraph Food and Drink Awards.

She said: “The culture of pubs has changed.

"When I was a little girl my grandad used to take me in pubs and it was all men drinking after work.

“Now it has become more of a family thing.

“There’s a new generation of people coming in and they’re drinking different things, for example, cask ales are very popular with the younger generation and ladies are coming in to try all the speciality gins.

“There’s a lot of competition, you have to keep up with what people are drinking or you’ll get left behind.

“We also serve food and hold a lot of events so there’s something for people who aren’t drinking.”

She described running a pub as a 'lifestyle choice' which is something new landlords are not prepared for.

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She said: “People don’t know what goes into running the pub and they lose sight of the people behind the pub.

“We live on site so we are on call all the time.

“It’s a lifestyle choice, when the doors close at the end of the day we don’t stop working.

“Even on our days off we’re still working, we’re accountants, we’re chefs and landlords.

“It’s definitely not for the faint-hearted, which is a mistake a lot of new pub owners make.

"They don't realise what they're getting into.

"It’s fast passed and you have to have a thick skin but it’s very rewarding.”