A brother and sister team who have taken over the reins of a pub on the outskirts of Norwich are hoping to turn the business into a family affair.

David May, 41, and his sister Sarah Bulley, 46, have chosen the Longe Arms pub in Spixworth as their first joint business venture and are looking to offer good food to help entice in families from around the area.

Mr May said: 'It's a family running it and we want families to feel welcome coming here.'

The siblings, who have both been involved in the pub trade before, aim to provide some long-term stability at the Enterprise Inns-owned pub, which in 2010 was saved from closure after locals Dave Whiting and Eric Donelly stepped in.

Mr May, who lives above the Crostwick Lane-based pub, said: 'My sister and I have discussed going into business before and as she lives in Frettenham and I was in a position to move – I was selling my house at the time – it freed up some capital and it seemed right to put it into a business rather than another property.

'We're hoping to take it on and make a go of it and fulfil the pub's potential.

'Spixworth is a big village and it's a big pub that can cater for a lot of people and it would nice to see it even fuller than it has been.' Mr May said he and his sister were 'enjoying' their first taste of running a pub together.

He said: 'The locals are a great bunch and we've had some really good days, a couple of barbecues and bands. It's going well – we're enjoying it.' One of the biggest priorities for the couple over the coming weeks was to sort the kitchen out and start offering locals great food as well as great beer.

Mr May said: 'We're looking to start offering food over the summer. We're going to re-jig the kitchen. We definitely want to promote a family message – we've got a nice children's play area and a big beer garden, so there's plenty of room for families to come and enjoy the summer weather.'

The Evening News's Love Your Local campaign has been urging people to support their local pubs.