DRINKING pals are hoping to be toasting success after they clubbed together to save their local pub from been shut.

Four friends joined to buy The Buck Inn, at Maunby, Northallerton, North Yorkshire, for £250,000 when it was threatened with closure.

Local Mark Stokes brought in his brother Paul Stokes plus friends Gary Hudson and Jon Buckley to the venture.

The Buck Inn is the only pub in Maunby and the group was keen to keep it going.

Mark Stokes said: "Many pubs are shutting or are threatened and rather than letting that happen in Maunby we decided to buy the pub.

"The Buck Inn never closed but it had been on the market for about two and a half years and it went to auction and never sold.

"It was an option that it could shut down. I worked there as a waiter 18-years ago and drank there and I didn’t want it to close and I thought let’s get it bought.

"I brought in three others and we’re now looking to make the most of it and to give it a real go."

The free house serves customers from Maunby plus other from nearby villages such as Kirby Wiske which have no pubs of their own.

The venture comes as the British Beer and Pub Association states that a record 39 pubs a week closed in the UK over the last six months of 2008.

This equates to a total of 1,973 pubs closing their doors for good in the UK over the same period.

The association feels the number will escalate if the government does not stop further alcohol tax increases.

At The Buck Inn the group of four have fitted a new kitchen and refurbished the business and they are hoping to go against the trend.

Mr Stokes, who also runs The Buffalo Company landscaping business, said: "We have no experience of running a pub but hope it goes well.

"It’s a straight forward pub and we would like it to be a very good village pub."

The Buck Inn stocks local Yorkshire beers and any food sold by the business will be sourced locally were possible.