A PUB designed to appeal to a city's large student population opened its doors this week, just as the student term came to a close.

But assistant manageress Lucy Nicholson said the timing of the opening of the Varsity, in Durham, would allow some of the city's residents to try it out before the return of undergraduates next month.

She said: "Obviously, given the name, we are aiming at the student and like-minded market, but we certainly do not discriminate against non-students."

The Durham branch of Varsity, the 22nd in a growing chain, is in Saddler Street, on the approach to the North and South Bailey colleges of Durham University.

Developed at a cost of £1m in what was the former Durham University archaeology department, the Varsity is built on one of the old outer walls of the nearby castle.

The chain's owners, the Barracuda Group, had to seek advice from city council conservation officers to protect some of the older remnants of the walls as the conversion took place.

An original central staircase, believed to date from the 1620s, has remained intact and in use, fitting in with the rest of the building.