UPDATE: Finney pub has now reopened

The Sir Tom Finney pub in Penwortham – named after the late great former England and Preston North End footballer – was in darkness for several days, with locals left baffled by its sudden closure.

But now it is back open again – and it is business as usual, says the hostelry.

The sudden closure of the Finney even came as a surprise to the owners, Enterprise Inns.

The national chain, which owns more than 5,000 pubs, told the Evening Post on Friday morning it was given no warning of the shutdown this week.

A spokesman told the Evening Post at the time: “Unfortunately, the Tom Finney is temporarily closed following the publican’s decision to close the pub and leave. We were given no prior notice of their intentions, however, we would like to reassure members of the local community that we are in discussion with another operator who is interested in taking on this popular pub and aim to have it back open and trading very soon.”

However, a spokesman at the pub confirmed on Sunday that it had fully reopened at the weekend.

“We are back open again – everything is back to normal,” he said.

The brewery was not available for further comment on Sunday.

One Finney regular who lives in Central Drive said after the initial closure: “It came as a bit of a shock to say the least.

“There was quite a bit of coming and going over the weekend.”

The Tom Finney, which stands at the junction of Central Drive and Birch Avenue, opened in March 1975. It later changed its name to the Sir Tom Finney when he was knighted by in 1998. Originally, it had a football mural featuring the great man behind the bar.