The Deer’s Leap in Penhill was vandalised just over two weeks ago when David Mundy smashed 43 windows.

But managers Iain and Liz Watson say they will not let the behaviour of a few stop them creating a community pub.

“We had no idea who this guy was because he doesn’t normally drink in here,” said Iain Watson.

“It’s all drug related,” Iain added. “We’ve got a zero-tolerance on drugs. If we catch you doing it on our premises you’ll be barred.

“More than 90 per cent of people in Penhill are absolutely amazing, lovely people,” he added.

The couple have been running the Deer’s Leap since February and are working to turn its previous bad reputation around.

SPECIAL REPORT: What it's like to run The Moonrakers in Pinehurst and Penhill

They host events for the community including monthly family discos, live music, karaoke nights, and weekly bingo.

Iain continued: “Now we’ve got a really nice pub.

"We’ve got the families who are starting to come back in. We got people who say 'oh this is like the old Deer’s Leap 20 years ago'.”

The couple are determined the incident won’t stop their future plans, which include a Christmas party for children this weekend and the introduction of a kitchen next year to allow them to offer Sunday roasts.

Iain added: “It just takes this one incident to knock things back and then for other people to talk about ‘ah it’s a nasty pub don’t got there’, and it’s not true.

“This is a great pub, Penhill is a fantastic place and it’s very community spirited.”

So just where did The Moonrakers get its name from?