Ryton villagers pull together in bid to buy their local pub
A community group has been created in Ryton near Dorrington with the aim of purchasing the village's local pub which closed last year.
The group is hoping to purchase The Fox Inn and reopen it as a community venue where local groups can meet and events can be held.
The pub was closed last year by its current owners and put up for sale. The owners are backing the group's bid to purchase it.
The group has already got the pub listed as a 'Community Asset' and have also triggered a legal process with Shropshire Council to be the sole bidders for purchasing the pub in a six-month period.
The spokesperson for the group, Dave Wright, said: "We are hoping to create a truly community-based hub catering for the local village of Ryton but also the many surrounding villages.
"There has been a lot of sadness at the pub's closing from local people, many of whom used it as a place of social interaction and to meet friends.
"We don't want to lose an incredible local resource which was not just a pub but a community place to meet and interact.
"In many villages local amenities are closing and this would leave the village without its hub adding to the sense of social isolation especially for older people. We hope to create other facilities in the pub such as a morning café, local clubs meeting place, quiz nights, themed nights etc."
You can follow the group via their Facebook page, Friends of The Fox Inn, Ryton.
