ONE of Hampshire’s longest-serving licensees has retired after running the same pub for 30 years.

Geoff Mercer, 68, has been mine host at Gleneagles in Butts Ash Lane, Hythe, since 1982, when it was called The Jester.

Mr Mercer is a lifelong sports fan and decided to name the pub after Scotland’s famous golfing venue.

The opening ceremony was performed by top player Peter Dawson, who took part in the 1977 Ryder Cup and later became an international coach.

Other celebrities who have visited the pub over the years include botanist David Bellamy, former Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown and actor George Baker, whose Inspector Wexford series was filmed in Hampshire.

The Gleneagles is thought to have raised between £80,000 and £100,000 for charity over the past three decades.

Mr Mercer, who ran pub with his wife Sandie, has been in the licensing trade since he left school in the late 1950s.

After 30 years in charge of Gleneagles he is thought to be the longest-serving publican in the Waterside area.

“When I first started and I was on my own and did a lot of 18-hour days, he said.

“However, I helped create a friendly, relaxed pub and regard the customers as good friends who have made my life very happy.

“The Gleneagles is my baby and I’m desperately sorry to leave, but life must go on.”