THE future of the Ranken Arms in Hoddlesden is in doubt after it closed less than a year after last changing hands.

The Thwaites drinking establishment, which hosted regular live acts, shut its doors after putting on a free buffet of chicken tikka masala and rice and giving away drinks late last month.

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It had been run by Nick Parker, who left The Dog Inn in Belthorn to take the reins last November.

Writing on the pub’s Facebook page, Mr Parker announced the pub was closing and said he was now looking for a new job.

He invited punters to “join me and help drink the place dry” ahead of his last day in the pub, on Friday, July 31.

The Queen Street venue was previously run by Jim and Sandra Cozens, who closed the pub for a month while it underwent a £120,000 refurbishment early last year.

Work included a new kitchen, a redesigned bar, revamped pub design, new fittings, soft furnishings and signage.

More than 150 VIPs attended the grand re-opening of the pub last March, with 2,000 customers passing through the door in its first month.

Mrs Cozens later stepped down to care for her husband, Jim, the pub’s landlord, in his battle against cancer, alongside her step-daughter Kelly.

John Harrop from the nearby Hoddlesden Conservative Club said residents in the town are keen to see it reopened soon even if he isn’t.

“A lot of people in the village use both the pub and the club but I’m not one of them — it’s better for the club if it’s closed,” he said.

“I don’t know what the brewery will do now. It needs somebody in. The village needs it to be open.”

The Ranken Arms received mixed reviews on restaurant and eatery review website TripAdvisor, which scored it 3.5 stars out of five.

Customers rated it excellent 12 times, very good 11 times, average on four occasions, poor on seven, and terrible six times.

One, vickruss, said: “I had such high hopes for this place as our local, and at one point we visited here for meals twice a week.”

Another, Kirty78_11, wrote: ““The decor was lovely, staff polite, the place quiet and food brilliant.”

No-one from Thwaites was available for comment.