Two local mums have joined forces to launch a campaign to restore and reopen The Lamb, in Clandown, as a village community pub. Nettie Williams and Anne Marie Jovcic-Sas first met in 2006 at the weekly Barnardo's Mother and Toddler Group at the Lamb Inn, which closed in January this year.

"Slowly but surely, Clandown has lost nearly all its village services," said Anne Marie Jovcic-Sas, who has lived in the area for nearly thirty years. "Thank goodness we still have our village store, but in the time I've been here, we've lost the school, the pub and another shop."

"It was while we were campaigning to support B&NES' Children's Centres that we first started chatting about the closure of the pub," said Nettie Williams. "It's another body blow to village life in a part of Radstock that still sees itself as a distinct community.

"Both Anne Marie and I thought this could be something worth fighting for."

Initial investigations suggest that the pub could be up for auction, with a price tag of £249,000. The campaigners say the worry is that a commercial developer will step in and demolish the historic building for housing.

Now Nettie and Anne Marie plan to use a Government-backed scheme called the Community Right to Bid to delay any pending auction. This would buy some time to urgently explore the possibility of establishing a community co-operative, prepare a feasibility study and seek funding.

The group will need to formulate a vision and business plan, with support from the public, calling on any locals who might be able to offer their skills. Some will also be wondering, if, perhaps, some of the Big Local £1 million could be used?

The idea of buying the local pub is not unheard of, as, rather than see it close for good, many across the country have been bought by local groups, with buildings rennovated into community hubs – some not just as public houses, but offering extra services such as cafés and meeting rooms.

Locally, there have been a few examples of post offices and community shops being saved through people power – the village shops at Mells, Wellow, West Harptree and Freshford have all been saved by locals and are now thriving, offering its community exactly what it wants.

"We would need to raise £500,000 for the purchase and renovation," said Nettie. "It's a challenging task, but we know it has been done elsewhere in the country, so we have many successful models to follow. "There's no harm in being ambitious."

"At this early stage, we need to spark public interest," added Anne Marie. "We have established a Facebook group and are looking to start door-to-door campaigning throughout the village.

"We need energetic volunteers to join a small working party and are looking to organise a summer event on Clandown Rec. to gather more support."

For more information, residents can follow the group on Facebook by searching 'Coming Together for Clandown'. Anyone with memories of the pub or who has access to any historical information is welcome to contribute.