A village’s only pub which closed earlier this year is set to reopen next month – and offer “fine dining”.

The County Members in Lympne has been bought by the owners of The Swan and The Red Lion in nearby Hythe.

Refurbishments are well underway and bosses plan to open in the second week of October.

The manager at The Red Lion, Bill Giles, says they are excited about transforming the Lympne boozer into a “fine dining pub”.

“We are still in the early stages, but the pub has had a full refurb,” he said.

“It's going to be brand-new, including garden furniture.

“I’m going to split my time between the two pubs. The owners have put their trust in me to manage The County Members as well.”

The new owner of The County Members took over The Red Lion just five weeks ago.

Furthermore, Mr Giles confirmed they are “planning on providing shuttle buses to and from The County Members so people can save money on taxis”.

The pub, located near Lympne Primary School, previously had a rating of 4 on Tripadvisor and a score of 4.4 on Facebook reviews.

Currently, the nearest drinking establishment is the Unit 1 microbar in West Hythe.

Villagers were left dismayed by the shock closure of The County Members in April.

A post on the venue's Facebook page at the time said: "We regret to inform you that The County Members pub has closed for business with immediate effect.

"We would like to take this moment to thank patrons and the community for all of their support through the years."