TWO historic East Lancashire pubs are set to go under the hammer early next month.

Auctioneers Pugh hope that The Hapton Inn will meet a reserve price of £265,000 at their next sale on September 3.

Would-be publicans not only get a 19th century hostelry, with beer garden and car park, but three-bedroom accommodation overlooking the village.

One of the former landlords there was Nicholas Brown, brother of the Burnley-born former England ladies goalkeeper Rachel Brown-Finnis.

Another alehouse set to go under the gavel, at the AJ Bell Stadium in Salford, is the Foresters Arms in Haslingden.

Once known to townsfolk as the Hark to Tackler, the Pleasant Street premises had been a town centre favourite, alongside The Commercial and The Black Bull nearby.

Auction bosses have placed a guide price of £70,000 on the two-storey building, which also dates back to the 19th century, with two bedrooms available for the eventual licensees.

Sales chiefs say that the lots have been lodged with them as the total number of pubs in England and Wales dropped by 235 in the first half of 2019.

Paul Thompson, Pugh’s managing director, said: “We’re all familiar with the tide of closures across the country as the pub industry comes under pressure from changing leisure habits.

“The good news is that former pubs are often perfect for imaginative redevelopment projects and can be put to all kinds of interesting residential or commercial uses, subject to obtaining the necessary planning consent.

“We find pub and hotel properties tend to generate large amounts of interest from potential buyers and sale by auction is one of the most rapid and effective ways to ensure that a former pub can take on a new and useful identity within a community.”

The third East Lancashire pub to feature in the same sale, as reported previously by the Telegraph, will be the The Prince of Wales in Darwen.

The imposing Quaker Lane building, which has four bedrooms and a large function room and pool room, could go for upwards of £85,000.

The pub, known locally as The Singing Mouse, has been vacant since 2015.