A PUB regular who was the last to enjoy a pint before his local burned down became the first to raise a glass to its re-opening.

West Stafford villager Derek Keeling toasted the re-opening of the Wise Man Inn after it was shut for nearly two years because of an electrical fire.

The inn has been taken on by Brian and Gloria Dodge, who also own The Poet Laureate in Poundbury. Mr Dodge said: "It was pure luck that Derek was the first one in the door when we opened again. We invited along all the people from the village and from the surrounding villages to see it before anyone else because they had been quite verbal about wanting the pub back.

"We want to return it to the village pub that it should be. It's a village pub with food, a great beer garden and it had a good reputation before in years gone by."

The Wise Man has particular significance for selfconfessed pub lovers Mr and Mrs Dodge.

"We did our courting there 35 years ago and always thought of it as a chocolate box pub," Mr Dodge said.

Oscar-winning writer Julian Fellowes, a West Stafford villager, pulled the first pint on the pub's official opening night.

To celebrate the occasion, the Dodges were presented with some old photographs of the Wise Man. Mr Dodge said: "There was a comment written on one of the pictures saying All good things must start somewhere.' "It really is strange to think that three months ago the pub was a complete shell. People said this was well worth waiting for."