THE new general manager at Burnley's Comfort Friendly Inn intends to put it back on the map.

Steve Burnett, 27, said: "At one time this hotel was the best in Lancashire and I'm going to do my upmost to bring back the glory days.

"I want to increase usage, open the restaurant for lunch and dinners and promote Cottons Bar, which is currently under-used. I hope to put that right by introducing Sixties and Seventies theme nights."

Steve's wife Nicola is a member of the management team of a rival hotel chain in Nottingham.

He said long-term they were hoping to settle in Lancashire but, until his wife relocates, he faces a journey of nearly two hours to return home.

Steve has worked in the hotel trade for 11 years and his first job, a general assistant at a 74-bed privately owned hotel, saw him cooking and waiting on.

He has been a bar and restaurant manager in Oxford and Nottingham and his last job was with Friendly Hotels in Leicester as deputy manager.

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