A pub closed because of a leaky roof will reopen next week after its new owners decided the area had lost too many good boozers already.

The Mariner, which overlooks Folkestone Harbour, has been shut since March after water damage caused electrical problems.

But sensing an opportunity to revive the taproom in an increasingly trendy area, Dean and Dave Finch took over last month and are now looking forward to welcoming back patrons after eight months.

“It’s a nice town, especially down here in the harbour, so when we were offered the chance to take over The Mariner we thought ‘why not?’,” said Dean, 40.

“We don’t like to see pubs close - we’ve lost too many around Folkestone already.”

The Lighthouse Inn at Capel-le-Ferne shut in 2019 while The Providence Inne - a mainstay in Sandgate - also abruptly closed this September.

But elsewhere in the district, the Master Brewer, at Broadmead Village, Folkestone, will formally reopen again this Friday.

The Shepherd Neame-owned pub will now be run by co-landlords Benjamin Edwards and Maurice O’Flynn.

It had been closed since September after the previous managers moved on.

Mr Edwards told KentOnline: “Now we want to give this back to the community and have a community-led pub

“We will provide live music plus a quiz night once a month,”

Mr Edwards was previously landlord of the Red Lion in Herne Hill and Mr O’Flynn ran a number of pubs in south London.

The Master Brewer originally opened on December 9, 1985 to serve the then-new Broadmead Village estate.

Peter and Heather Laidlaw were the first managers and the country-style pub in Broadmead Road cost £200,000 to build,

At the new and improved Mariner, partners Dean and Dave - who already run Abbot’s Fireside in Elham - have ditched the sports screens and have brought in a new menu of classic pub food.

“The Abbot does well and we thought, it’s a good place down here - let’s try and make it a nice traditional pub.

“So we’ve taken it over, given it a good clean-up, redecorated, and put in brand new draught equipment and fridges.”

Serving up speciality brews like Brixton’s Coldharbour Lager and Reliance Pale Ale and trusted standards such as Guinness, Heineken, and John Smith’s, the dog-friendly establishment at The Stade will officially reopen at noon on Thursday, December 12.

“The kitchen upstairs will be opening in January,” added Dean. “We’ll be serving traditional pub food like home-cooked pies, fish and chips, steak and burgers.

“Once we’re up and going, we’ll also have a variety of live music regularly.”

Dean added he will be looking to hire about seven people to staff The Mariner - three full-time and four part-time.