SHOCKED staff at a Bournemouth pub arrived at work on Wednesday morning to be told they were out of a job.

Removal vans moved in to strip out the interior of The Dolphin in Holdenhurst Road, Springbourne – which was open as normal on Tuesday – as bewildered staff and regulars gathered.

They told the Daily Echo that they had no warning of the closure and had been told that the Greene King pub had been sold.

Trevor Leadbetter, who worked at The Dolphin for two years, said: “I got a phone call telling me.

“I’m well and truly shocked.

“We’ve just had a baby and I was relying on the income.

“It would have been nice to have found out a week or so ago.”

Christine Maidment, who had frequented the pub for 30 years and worked there for the past eight months, said: “I’m gutted, absolutely gutted.

“I’ve got rent to pay.”

One regular, Derek Smith, said removal men told him that they had known for a week about the closure.

A Greene King spokesperson said: “We can confirm that, sadly, the Dolphin in Bournemouth is closed and has been sold.

“Unfortunately, due to confidentiality agreements, much as we would have wished to, we were unable to discuss the sale with our staff any earlier.

“We understand that this is an unsettling time for our team and are working with them to find suitable alternative employment within our other pubs in the local area.

“We’d like to thank our customers for their support over the years and hope to welcome them to other local Greene King pubs.”