THE Delme Arms on Cams Hill is run by owner Neil Matthews, who decided to take over the pub five years ago.

According to the 51-year-old, customers travel from as far as Scotland to visit the 235-year old pub.

Having lived in Fareham since he was ten, Neil grew up visiting the pub with his family and said it was "known as a great pub in the eighties".

Neil said: "The pub was run down for about ten years, and I wanted to certainly try to make it better as it was fantastic when I used to come with my parents.

"Ever since, I've been trying to make it a versatile place where an 8-year-old and an 80-year-old can both come in.

"I've never wanted to change the name as it is traditional, but people say they can't believe what has happened since it was run down.

"It was seen as a local community pub but now we have people coming here from ages away, including one woman who drives down from Bursledon every Tuesday as well as people coming here from Scotland for our annual beer festival."

The Delme Arms, which is also a bed and breakfast hotel, boasts a selection of meals, including some which are cooked by head chef Adrian Leslie, who Neil claimed is the "best chef in the area". It also offers beers, drinks and a showing of all the rugby, football and boxing games.

Aside from sports, the pub hosts weekly specials such as 'two for £10' meals, roast dinners on Sundays and live music every Friday night.

The pub also has a 4-star rating on review site TripAdvisor and hosts an annual beer festival every May bank holiday.

Neil said: "We have ten local bands performing and offer between 40 to 45 ciders to customers. We also open up the garden."

The owner has also been granted planning permission to extend the pub, with hopes to create more space for visitors.