Old Preston pubs: Demolition work begins at the Saddle Inn in Lea as excavators arrive on site

Excavators arrived at the Saddle Inn in Lea today (Wednesday, October 12) to begin demolition work on the once popular local pub.

Pete Marquis Contractors were stripping the site, on Sidgreaves Lane, in preparation for the full demolition which will be taking place tomorrow (October 13).

Thought to have been built as far back as the late 1600s, the Saddle Inn closed its doors in December 2020, after being deemed "unviable" by owners Thwaites.

Before closure, the pub had had a string of landlords over the past decade and had three spells, in 2015, 2017 and 2019, where it was temporarily shut.

The site, which also includes a large car park and children's play area, is set to be turned into a Euro Garages 24-hour filling station, shop and drive-thru coffee stop to cater for traffic created on the East-West Link Road and its connection with the Preston Western Distributor.