AN HISTORIC pub which was closed down when rats moved in has reopened.

The 700-year-old Castle Hotel opened its doors last Thursday as environmental health officers at Halton Council removed an emergency prohibition order due to rat infestation.

A council spokesman said: "Officers are satisfied that sufficient measures have been taken to remove the imminent risk of injury to health. However, the premises will remain under observation."

The Grade II-listed pub, in Castle Road, Runcorn, was shut down on March 30 after rats were spotted in the bar area. Officers later found droppings in the bar and cellar.

Manager Scott Malcolm said: "It is a massive relief. We were coming up to a busy period over the bank holiday and we had football on so there were plenty of people down. We would have lost a lot of money if we didn't reopen before then.

"Business went really well and we hope we don't have any more problems. It is very much business as usual."

However, Mr Malcolm stressed he is yet to see a rat on the premises.

"I just don't quite get it," he said. "I still haven't seen one around at all. I said that when they served the order and I'm still saying it."

The pub is a former courthouse of Halton Castle, which was the seat of the Barons of Halton from the 11th to 15th Century. The 15th baron Henry Bolingbroke later became King Henry IV.

The castle is owned by the Duchy of Lancaster, but it is managed by the Norton Priory Museum Trust.