ONE of Blaenavon’s oldest and best loved pubs reopens today after a local electrician spent his lifesavings bringing it back to life.

The Cambrian Inn, known as the Camber, which has been serving locals for more than 100 years, closed just before Christmas.

It was feared the pub on Cambrian Row had served last orders for the final time.

But Leon Archer, who wanted a change from his day job as an electrician, bought the pub in March for £71,000.

Mr Archer,40, said he was unhappy in his previous job and has been suffering from a mild form of tinitus for the last three years.

"I saw it as an opportunity to get it back to the thriving business it was in the 1990s.

"This is going to be my pension," he said.

Since March, Mr Archer has worked non-stop renovating the pub with the help of his dad Roy, 65 and older brothers Darren, 42, and Shane 41.

After receiving a quotation of £50,000 from a company to carry out the work the family decided to take on the job themselves.

They fitted the work around their own full time jobs with Roy and Shane working as carpenters and Darren as a tiler and licensee of The Pottery further down the road.

The new landlord spent about £15,000 rennovating the pub.

This included moving the lounge into the old games room and the games room to a new part of the bar, installing new toilets and seating and decorating and re-carpeting the pub.

Mr Archer said he was keen to retain the ambience of the pub’s famous bar which was once filled with memorabilia of the drinkers and organisations which had used it as a meeting place.

This included the pub being used as a headquarters for the old Blaenavon Fire Brigade.

Mr Archer said there were also old black and white photos of townspeople and sporting heroes such as Pontypool RFC player Chris Huish and jockey Paddy Graham but that nearly all of these disappeared when the pub closed.

Mr Archer is seeking more memorabilia and thanked residents who had already provided some.

His brother Darren said: "This was a brilliant pub. People were devastated whe it closed and can't wait for it to re-open. One guy has been in every day asking when it's opening."

The pub is now looking to build up its own pool team having already acquired darts and cribs teams after the closure of another pub in the town.

The Cambrian reopens at 7pm tonight.