ONE of Blackburn town centre's oldest pubs is due to reopen after reverting to its old name.

The White Bull, Church Street, has been brought back to life by Adrian Garner, licensee of Bar Ibiza in Mincing Lane and town centre club Never Never Land.

The pub, which had been called Jam for five years, closed for several months and a succession of previous managers failed to make an impact.

But Mr Garner, who is celebrating 25 years in the licensed trade in Blackburn, has acquired the lease from owners Thwaites, who have spent "a substantial amount" of money refurbishing the venue, which opens on Wednesday.

Mr Garner said: "The White Bull is such a nice and prominent building and we wanted to take it back to what is was like once before.

"Church Street has seen a lot of regeneration over the past few years and we see this as helping that regeneration.

"We think changing the name back to the White Bull will help take it back to its former glory.

"The pub is aimed at the older age groups, because we think they would appreciate something like this and have not been well-catered for in the past."

Windows have been uncovered and repainted and lanterns have been installed.

Colourful window boxes have also been placed outside the pub which has new tables and seating.

Mr Garner said he intended to begin serving meals in the New Year.

The pub will hold its official reopening on Wednesday and open to the general public after 9pm.

A ribbon cutting ceremony will be performed by Blackburn town centre businesswoman Margo Grimshaw.

The current White Bull building dates back to Victorian times but there are mentions of the building in early trade publications dating back to the 1700s, when it would have been built from timber.