The rural community pub where everybody is part of one big family

Supervisor Emma Gizzi, 24, says the pub is a great place to work and all the staff love working there. They all help each other out and it has become a family.

Emma has worked with the parent company Sketchydog Ltd for three years, but has worked at the Bull & Dog for around a year now.

Speaking about what it is like working there, she said: "It is absolutely fabulous working here.

"I have just finished uni, and this is a breath of fresh air, and the motto for the pub is that it is a local pub for anyone, and that is so true.

"We have all kinds of people coming in, some have special needs but we welcome everyone no matter their need, and it is great to be able to help wherever we can.

"There's three of us that help run the place, myself, Simon Dunsmore the assistant manager, and the manager, James Rickerby, and all three of us help each other out.

"Our manager James has dyslexia but we want to put it out there that this does not restrict people from doing jobs like this.

"Instead we all work together as a team, and we encourage anyone with a disability to join our team, because your needs does not define you.

"Another member of our staff, Neve, has chronic fatigue syndrome but all pull together to help one another, and it was James that gave her this opportunity to work here since work experience, and she has grown so much and built many skills, but this is the kind of work place and environment where there is no toxicity and instead we all thrive."

The motto for the pub, 'A local pub for anyone' is one that the staff are very proud of and will continue to work towards making the place a welcoming one for all.

One of the ways pubs do this is by being very involved in the community, being a beacon and that is exactly how the Bull & Dog is run.

Emma added: "The social aspect of working in a pub is great, being in the community and involved in everything around here is part of being a community pub.

"Working in a pub you almost become like a friend or therapist with the customers, by hearing people out, having conversations, it is so nice to do."

The pub serves food every day too, and they locally sources their ingredients and everything is freshly prepared, with head chef Andy Watson taking pride in everything he does, and gives his all to the role according to Emma, as he genuinely cares. And the locals have taken note and said how the food has vastly improved and is really popular now.

The Bull & Dog also hosts regular events, including once every couple of months where a DJ named John Yates, who is 79, brings the house down, according to Emma.

She said: "Everybody loves him, and he brings the house down every time and gets everyone dancing.

"The locals all love him and the music he plays, and he does it for free, we just give him Budweiser, that's all he wants as he says just loves music and wants to get his decks out and play.

"Overall, there aren't many pubs around here and so it is very important to be in the community, and this is a pub with a lot of history.

"The building has been around since the 17th century and it has been a pub from the 1900s, and it is now a big country pub with a great sense of pride and joy being here.

"To indicate how much we get along with our community, there was a pub not far from here called the White Lion where a staff member passed away, and so to allow them all to go to the funeral, we offered to run the pub for them for the day while they could attend."