A historic Swindon pub will reopen this week after it closed suddenly earlier this month.

Richard True will become the new landlord of the Harrow in Wanborough, and has already moved into the pub alongside his wife Charlotte, 41 and their daughter Kaylei, 20.

Richard says it has been a lifelong dream to own and run a pub, which will come true when they open their doors at 5pm on Friday.

The 41-year-old, who left his job as an estate agent to pursue the opportunity, said: “I have given my heart and soul into reopening the pub.

“We look forward to putting the Harrow back on the map.

“It has been a lifelong dream of ours to run a pub, our family ran pubs for two generations before myself, but this is my first.

“We believe the energy and the enthusiasm that we bring to this, having worked a 9 to 5 for over 20 years is something we really look forward to.

“It has been a hard process, a thoroughly enjoyable process, an exciting process with different challenges.

“It was always a dream to do it and it got to a stage in my career to either talk about it or go ahead and do it and we decided to take the plunge.

“The Harrow is a very well-known pub, the beautiful building speaks for itself.”

The pub previously closed its doors on New Year's Day.

Sanjay Dogra, the previous landlord, walked away from the pub after claiming a rumour about him leaving the pub affected business.

The True family moved into the pub almost immediately after Sanjay's departure and have been busy renovating it ever since.

The married couple were both born and have lived in Swindon their entire lives and are excited to take over the pub.

They plan on bringing in locals from both the village of Wanborough and Swindon.

They also hope that the new residential estate, Redlands, which is part of the New Eastern Villages and is currently being developed along Wanborough Road, will bring in more business.

The reopening of the Harrow will make four pubs which are currently open in Wanborough with a fifth, the Cross Keys set to open next month.

Richard believes the energy he and his family plan on injecting into the pub as well as the influx of new customers will lead to success in their first venture in the hospitality industry.