AN Old Leigh pub’s £40,000 revamp is proving popular with customers, one of its managers has said.

The Peterboat has re-opened after five weeks of refurbishment which has tripled the size of its bar areas and improved customers’ views across the Thames Estuary. The pub has also been re-roofed and given a new kitchen.

Nick Turner, area manager of owner the East Anglia Pub Company, which bought the pub six years ago, said its new look was popular with customers, who had returned to their old watering hole in force.

He said: “We had a very busy weekend and everyone seems to like what we’ve done with the place.

“There was so much interest, which is good, because you’re never quite sure. We hoped it would work, because we are always looking to improve our premises, and it definitely has.”

The company owns four other pubs in the borough, the Bellhouse, the Exchange, the Trading Rooms and the Hamlet Court.