A dilapidated pub could be given a new lease of life after it reportedly closed its doors to revellers earlier this year.

The Stag, in Flackwell Heath, was sold for £75,000, with estate agents describing it as a “charming traditional village inn” with “an abundance of character”.

Pub firm Ei Publican Partnership, which has now bought the pub, said it would be opening with a new landlord in the “very near future”.

The company said in a statement: “We can confirm The Stag is currently shut while it undergoes some essential maintenance.

“We’d like to reassure the local community that the pub will reopen with a new publican in the very near future.”