THE new owners of a recently closed St Denys pub have vowed to "bring it back to life".

Corrine Yendle and Damian Etherington will take over The Dolphin, on Osborne Road South, after it shut its doors earlier this month.

The co-owners, who have owned pubs in Suffolk and Milton Keynes, will make "exciting new changes" at the watering hole while "bringing it back to its hey-day as the best pub in Southampton for live music".

It will be transformed into a music themed bar, with instruments and posters lining the wall to give patrons the "wow-factor" when they walk in.

Other work being carried out on the revamp include a garden refurb, as well as a new menu containing exotic meats such as zebra, camel, kangaroo, python and elk.

Corrine said: "As The Dolphin has always been known as the place to go for live music but for some reason has been in a decline with customers over the past few years.

"We knew we had to do something very different from what anyone else would be doing.

"At this stage doors will stay closed for around three to four weeks.

"Our intentions are to bring life back into The Dolphin with a very exciting and different menu, along with a theme inside the pub and once again music."

Corrine added that she hoped the business would be open by June 24.

The pub's former landlords released a statement before the closure thanking customers for their support but that it was time for them to move on to "bigger and brighter pastures".

It was one of a number of bars in the area to close in quick succession, including Portswood establishments The Waggoners Arms and Tramstop Bar & Kitchen.

The Dolphin is owned by Ei Publican Partnerships, an organisation which leases out pubs to tenants and boasts a portfolio of more than 5,000 establishments across the UK.