Woolpack 'to open as soon as possible'

And they promise the TV soap alehouse will retain its 'village pub' atmosphere.

Coachloads of tourists on the Emmerdale trail have been left disappointed after finding the pub at Esholt near Shipley shut for two months.

Even some villagers have been baffled over why the popular pub shut at the start of August without warning and has not reopened.

Local businessman Andy Stakes and an undisclosed number of other villagers, who do not want to be identified, were so worried the pub would lose its charm when its owner Bradford Council put it up for sale last year that they set up a limited company called Esholt Estates and bought it themselves.

They had hoped the Wool-pack's landlord, Brian Pickard, would stay behind the bar and nothing would change. But Bingley-born Mr Pickard, who ran the Ferrand Arms in Bingley for ten years before the Woolpack, left the pub last week.

In 2003 a real-life drama erupted at the 173-year-old pub when two men broke into the bar and threatened Mr Pickard and his wife Jenny.

"I think that probably took its toll and they lost their appetite for running the pub," said Mr Stakes, 41.

The Woolpack was used for filming until 1996 when a replica pub and set were created on the Harewood estate a few miles away.

Now Mr Stakes and the other directors of Esholt Estates are busy looking at "several alternatives" to get the pub running again. "It's too early to say when that will happen but we want it to open as soon as possible because it's our local," Mr Stakes said.

"We bought the pub because we didn't want it to be taken over and turned into a fun pub or something totally out of keeping. Apart from spending a bit more money on it inside to tidy it up, it will stay just as it is. It's a village pub and that's how we like it."

Bradford's Campaign For Real Ale group welcomed the news. Secretary John Bell said: "Village pubs should be the hub of all village life.

"We would be happy to help get the Woolpack open again sooner rather than later."