THE new owners of a rural pub near Upton are hoping for better luck in the future than they had in their first month there.

Sally and Lee Flynn moved into the Dog at Baughton, on the A4104, on December 22. And just eight days later, someone stole their £16,000 caravan.

Then the snow came, almost killing trade at the pub for more than a week. And in the early hours of Wednesday, January 13, a reckless driver rammed into the sign post outside the pub, cutting the power supply to the sign's light, and wrecking a chain-link fence and a stone flower bed.

"This is the first pub that we've had," said Sally, "so it's not been a great start. We took over just before Christmas, and we had a really good Christmas and New Year. Then the snow came along and trade dropped to nearly nothing.

"The caravan was stolen on the evening of December 30. It was a Sterling Eccles Europa, and we'd only had it for 18 months; since then I've heard that at least one other caravan has been stolen in the village.

"It cost us £16,000 and Lee's been on the phone for hours to the insurers, trying to find out if we'll get our money back."

And the couple don't know yet how much it will cost to repair the sign, which waxxxxx by a motorist who drove away without stopping.

"It's all been a bit much," said Sally. "The people here have been really great, but we're hoping our luck will improve from now on."

Anyone with information about the theft should contact police on 0300 333 3000, quoting 103S/311209; for the vehicle hitting the sign, the crime number is 6S/130110.