A LANDLADY has used lockdown to create a mini version of her pub.

Amy Sayers recreated The Swan in Addingham to give herself something to do while the pub was forced to remain closed.

Amy, who has run The Swan with her husband Jonny for the past five years, began her project on January 26. She used wood from DIY stores and found other materials online.

She has paid painstaking attention to detail - and even has a miniature Ilkley Gazette in the newspapers rack.

She said: “We spent the first part of lockdown building a new outside area with the hopes of being open for Christmas.

“After this I finally got round to decorating a dolls house that I’ve had for nine years and abandoned due to not having time to do it. I really enjoyed doing this but it was just a case of papering and painting a kit. It was challenging to start with, but I soon got the hang of it.

“As I neared finishing it I began to fear being bored and the idea came in to my head to build a mini pub. The idea wouldn’t go away so I gave it a go.”

She said: “I needed something to do. We’re used to working long hours, not sitting and watching TV, so the idea came into my head and it wouldn’t go away.

“I already had the paint. I also took fabric from the underside of the bench seating from the real pub, an off-cut of the real bar floor, real dog biscuits - just to make it look like the actual pub.”

“It’s a distraction and a project to keep my mind busy,” she added.

The idea became a family project, with Jonny helping with the structure and their children Jessica, six, and Alex, three, helping with the painting.

“I used lots of bits from around the house such as buttons, googley eyes and cocktail sticks for the lager pumps. I slithered bits of fabric from the back of the real bench seating and used an off cut from the real bar floor. The jar of dog biscuits has real dog biscuits in that I cut up small. I tried to make some out of clay but they weren’t very good.

“Some things I bought and took apart and put them back together again to make them closer to the real thing.

“I also bought some things from Etsy such as the till and wood burner and various other pieces from Dolls house suppliers.

“It’s not quite finished but I think I’ll be adding bits to it for years to come. My daughter likes to point out things that are missing.”

The miniature replica is built using a 1:12 scale and was decorated using the same paints as the real pub.

When the pub is eventually allowed to re-open as lockdown restrictions are eased the model will be on display to give customers a chance to see it.

“I thought some might think I was a little bit nuts, but people haven’t seen the actual pub for a while so they’re saying they love it," Amy said. "I think I’ll be adding to it over the years.”