The owners of The Bottle Inn at Marshwood, Michael and Pauline Brooks, have strongly refuted claims made by the landlords, Nigel and Chrissy Blake. They have also said that Mrs Brooks will return in the next few weeks to take charge of the kitchen, so any closure of the pub appears to be for a limited time only.
The Blakes recently announced the pub will close.
As reported last week, the owners were granted a possession order, which gave the landlords 28 days to leave following a long-running dispute with many claims and counter-claims.