THE Highwayman Inn at Sourton has paid its respects to a former landlady who ran the pub for 30 years.

The inn held a memorial gathering yesterday (Wednesday) to remember Rita Jones, who ran the eccentric pub from 1959 to 1999.

She bought the pub with her husband Buster in 1958, when it was known as the New Inn.

The couple began right away to transform it into the quirky drinking hole it is today, with eclectic artefacts and unusual decor, and all manner of interesting features.

Her daughter Sally Thomson, who now runs the pub with her husband, said: 'She was known for her beauty, charm and wit, not to mention her theatrical sense of style. She would often dress in period attire befitting of a serving wench of a bygone age, complete with bustle and glamorous Marie Antoinette style hair, which would have been equally at home during the French Revolution.'

Rita died on September 2 aged 80.