A PAIR of Wiltshire millionaires have taken over their village’s pub.

Howard Spooner and Guy Sangster have taken over The Oddfellows Arms, in Manton, near Marlborough.

The pair hatched the idea after Mr Spooner, a 37-year-old nightclub entrepreneur, had a bad experience in the pub after walking across the fields from his home in Clatford with his two children and dog for a drink.

Mr Spooner said he was told that dogs were not welcome, his children should stay at a particular table and his boots were too muddy.

He and racehorse trainer Mr Sangster, from Manton House, who share a passion for sports, have taken a 15-year lease on the pub from Devizes brewery Wadworths, which has joined them in giving the pub a whole new look.

Mr Spooner hopes the pub they have renamed The Outside Chance will do as well as a horse he bought last year that surprised him by winning at 100-1.

The horse, Only Dreams, is trained at Mr Sangster’s Manton gallops.

“The name is also apt because who else would open a pub in this financial climate?” said Mr Spooner, whose first job was as a JCB driver.

He and Mr Sangster, a member of the horse racing and Vernon pools dynasty, want the pub to remain the village local, and it is run by villagers for villagers.

David Maughan, who lives a few yards away in the High Street in Manton, is the manager. Sally Munro-Thomas is running the kitchen.

The pub re-opened last weekend under its new name after a six-week closure during which time it has been completely revamped inside and out.

“It is our intention that it should be a local pub and we are definitely not trying to turn it into a gastro pub,” said Mr Spooner.

It is not the first time that Mr Spooner has pledged support for a Wiltshire enterprise.

He is using his experience to help Marlborough’s Riverbank cinema and theatre project to become a reality.