WEYMOUTH nightclub owner Phil Scott is selling the Malibu and calling it a day after more than 20 years in the town.

The Malibu and the integral Weymouth Arms have been part of resort nightlife since the club opened in 1981.

But Mr Scott said the pressure of other business commitments meant he and his wife, Shirley, had decided to sell-up and sever their links with the town.

Mr Scott, 45, said: "We will be putting the nightclub on the market later this month after trading on the site for 21 years.

"We will be concentrating on the Fox Inn, our country house hotel and restaurant at Ansty, near Dorchester, and we also run the Martyrs Inn at Tolpuddle.

"This is very demanding on our time so, after more than 20 years at the Malibu, we have decided to call it a day and sell the bar and the nightclub to sever our ties with Weymouth and concentrate on our main business."

The Malibu burst on to the local nightlife scene when it opened in a blaze of lights in December 1981.

Its exotic tropical theme decorations included everything from palm trees to a disco on the site off Bond Street and it quickly carved itself out a reputation for innovation.

It became the town's first split- level nightclub when a ground floor disco opened a year later and the Malibu hit the headlines in April 1983 when it became the first bar in the town to sell draught milk.

The club did a lot of charity work with the then Weymouth and District Hospital's Radio Shambles as well as holding many discos for good causes, ranging from Live Aid to the Save the Children Fund, Help the Aged and Cancer Research.

In 1996 the Malibu became the first Weymouth nightspot to join the internet system, broadcasting information worldwide by computer and even launching its own internet club about events, attractions and club offers.

Now Mr and Mrs Scott are saying goodbye to Weymouth two decades after the Malibu first opened its doors to nightclub-goers.