PUB-GOERS in Kinson have been breathing a sigh of relief, after the opening of The Acorn Pub.

It looked like the district was set to lose its last pub when Gullivers Tavern, Wimborne Road, closed earlier this year.

But after six weeks it reopened as The Acorn, with former Royal Oak Landlord Dave Braddock - whose old pub used to be across the road - at the helm.

He'll be running the bar with son Jake and Ariane Stutz.

Dave, who was landlord of the award-winning Royal Oak for 28-years, told the Daily Echo he got involved in this latest venture, well, "after a conversation in a pub, funnily enough."

He explained: "Someone said they knew the chap who was buying this and he wanted someone to run the bar, so I though, OK, lets have a look at it."

"My son Jake and Ariane are running it, I'm more of a silent partner - although you wouldn't believe that today.

"We are trying to get back into the Good Pub Guide with Camra (Campaign for Real Ale), we have six real ales on."

When Dave ran the Royal Oak it was listed in the Good Pub Guide, and it won the title of East Dorset Pub of the Year.

"We are basically trying to run The Acorn as a pub," Dave said. "We are bringing real ales back into Kinson, where they haven't been for five years.

"Kinson was about to lose the only pub it had left, so when I heard this I thought to myself, why not give it a go?

"I had a good name for real ales from across the road.

"This is not going to turn into a restaurant, it is going to be a pub - a proper pub but well-behaved."

According to figures from the Office of National Statistics, Bournemouth has lost one in five of its pubs since 2010.

In 2010 there were 90 pubs and bars but by 2017 that had fallen to 70.

Across the UK 5,745 pubs closed over the period, and there are 54 local authorities where 30 or more shut.