A village’s last-remaining pub could have crumbled to the ground in 10 years’ time if it was not snapped up by a Turkish restaurant chain, bosses claim.

Aspendos owner Necati Gunes bought the Middle of the Road – which was also equipped with a hair-cutting business – near Canterbury for £535,000 towards the end of last year.

Plans to transform the old Sturry boozer that dates back to the 1600s were last month given the green light, almost a year since papers were submitted to the city council.

But now Mr Gunes “regrets” having purchased the Grade II-listed building, as he will not be able to fully open his new venture until the site’s rotting joists are replaced.

“The building is in a very bad state – it needs major, major work,” he told KentOnline.

“A lot of the joists holding up the building have got rot.

"At the moment, we’ve got temporary metal frameworks in place to stop it collapsing.

“We didn’t realise it was in this shape when we bought it – it was all hidden behind plasterboard.

“Do I regret buying it? Yes, I do.”

A report compiled by structural engineers lodged with the local authority states “the majority of the oak joists in the main building have significant deterioration through rot and insect attack”.

It adds the “condition of the first floor should be considered to be structurally compromised”.

Mr Gunes expects to fork out as much as £400,000 on refurbishing the former tavern.

The 46-year-old hopes to launch the takeaway arm of the business at the end of January, once work to transform the Middle of the Road’s former barber shop into a kitchen is completed.

The 78-seat eatery will then be launched in the summer.

“We want to start earning money from the takeaway side,” Mr Gunes added.

“Financially we have struggled a lot because of the delays to the decision. That building has cost me £3,500 every month.

“We’ve had to pay the mortgage and the rest of it, while turning nothing from the site.

“If we didn’t get that building, then in five or 10 years’ time, that building could have collapsed.”

The restaurant magnate – who runs 11 other sites across Kent – previously said his eatery, serving a range of kebabs, mezzes and seafood dishes, will employ between 20 and 25 people.

This comes as the former Swan Inn in Sturry High Street continues to sit empty in the centre of the village, having called last orders for the final time in 2011.

A decision on proposals put forward by private school King’s to restore the alehouse to its former glory, while also opening a bed-and-breakfast on the site, has not yet been made.

This is despite the fact the revival bid was launched last January.

Earlier this month, villagers complained there are “fewer and fewer places for people to meet" in Sturry, after plans to transform the old Kathton House restaurant into homes were revealed.

But Mr Gunes's brother Nick - who also owns the firm - insists locals will be able to congregate at his enterprise’s bar for drinks.

“People are more than welcome to come in, sit down and have a drink," he said.

"We're taking about six months to create the restaurant because we don't want to rush it."

The Middle of the Road, perched on the triangular junction between the A28, Mill Road and Water Lane, dates back to the 17th century.

It is thought to have become the Welsh Harp in 1866 - a name it kept until 2014.

It later became known as The Pub, and was later rebadged as the Middle of the Road in 2017, soon after which its dining room was converted into a barber shop.