A WELL-KNOWN village pub near Salisbury, which shut its doors earlier this year after former owners blamed travel site Booking.com, will soon reopen under new ownership and management.

Wendy and Tony Wooller are to take over and completely renovate The Swan at Stoford on Warmister Road.

The pair, aged 50 and 54, have been publicans for 30 years and are currently running a pub in Thanet, Kent, called The Sun Inn.

They will be moving to Wiltshire on August 20.

"We'd been looking for a while for a place with letting rooms and the Swan just suited our needs," said Wendy.

"It's a small hotel in a lovely area with a little stream at the back, it's just the perfect place for us."

After seven years of service, The Swan closed for good at the end of January after the business became unviable.

The former operators blamed the pub's demise on leading travel website Booking.com, which changed its location listing.

This means the pub no longer comes up in 'Salisbury' searches.

Read more: The Swan near Salisbury blames Booking.com for its closure

Asked whether the issue was now resolved, Wendy said: "Not really, Booking.com have still got their rights that we have to be within a five-mile radius.

"It's silly to take them on, you can't change a big company's stipulations."

Despite this, the long-time publican is confident the business will be successful and is "looking forward to the challenge".

She added: "We just need to get it back open and we're going for a different clientele.

"The place is going to look completely different, all the rooms will be redecorated, the furniture, the bedding, it will be more boutique-y. It should be pretty good when it's all finished."

The Swan is set to reopen on September 1, with two rooms "ready to go".

The other eight will be refurbished one at the time.

Once reopened, the new owners will be looking for a chef and bar staff.