THE new landlord of a pub shut down for serving booze to underage teenagers and allowing late-night drinking is determined to rebuild its reputation.

Gerry McGrath, 56, has taken over at the Black Bull pub in Kidlington.

The pub’s licence was suspended for a month after police were handed photos of youngsters posing with bottles of alcopops in the bar on the Internet.

The teenagers had posted messages on the site boasting how they could get away with drinking in the pub — even though they were underage. The pub reopened under its new management on Monday.

Mr McGrath, who is landlord of the King’s Arms pub and chairman of the village’s pub watch scheme, said: “It will take a lot of effort to get the pub up and running again, but I’m looking forward to the challenge.

“Nobody likes a pub to close and it’s going to be hard to win back customers.

“It’s a very expensive pub to run. The business rates are nearly as much as the rent.”

Mr McGrath, who served in the RAF at Brize Norton for 26 years, said he would operate zero tolerance on the use of drugs in the pub, underage drinking and serving booze outside licensing hours.

He said: “If people behave themselves, they are welcome. I’m not looking to build up a big bad list. My mission is to make the pub safe and friendly for people.”

Tony Cope, Thames Valley Police licensing officer, welcomed the appointment of Mr McGrath.

He said: “He’s an ideal candidate. The Black Bull is a high-profile pub which serves the community and we need to make sure it works.

“If the chairman of the pub watch scheme is running the pub, things can only get better, and they need to.

“The purpose of the suspension was to show customers the pub was changing.

“If we take any further action against the premises there’s a strong chance it will lose its licence permanently. If things start off on the wrong foot, we will take immediate action.”

Punch Taverns, which owns the Black Bull, said it had every confidence the pub would not land itself in hot water again.

Spokesman Louise Gaul said: “We continue to work closely with the local authorities and pub watch.

“Additional security measures, such as CCTV, have been introduced at the pub and Mr McGrath has our full support.”

tshepherd@oxfordmail.co.uk