A 200-year-old pub will once again have its doors flung open after being bought at auction.

The Dirty Duck on Barrow’s Raglan Street has been snapped up by Joe Elliot, owner of Furness Tiles.

The Barrow businessman says that he was looking for a ‘side project’, and being a nearby resident he did not want to see it ‘turned into flats’.

He said: “I’ve always lived in the same area and I used to drink in the Dirty Duck when I first started drinking. There are a lot of happy memories.

“I’ve had a lot of messages off a lot of different people that are over the moon that I’ve bought it which is quite surprising.”

The iconic pub dates back at least as far as 1881. It is thought that it was previously called the Black Swan before taking on its nickname.

According to Joe the pub will need to undergo a ‘full refurbishment’ before the doors are opened.

“It’s going to need everything,” said Joe. “I’m going to try and keep as many bits as I can but there’s not much to be honest, it’s all been stripped out.

“But I’m going to go for a real traditional looking pub, reinstate a lot of the old oak and fitments that you’d expect to see if you walked into an old traditional pub, and just do my best with it really.”

Joe, who says he has always wanted to own his own pub, says he will be trying to use local brewers when possible.

He is also planning on converting the upstairs into rooms that can be rented out to cover the running costs of the pub.

And although Joe may only have experience as a glass collector as a teen, he says the pub will be in capable hands when it is opened to patrons.

It is hoped that the Dirty Duck will be reopened by Christmas.