Eye-catching creation to document fundraising for community pub in Northumberland

Following a hard-fought campaign that was backed by a number of famous faces, the steering committee for the buyout of The Fishers Arms in Horncliffe managed to exceed its £200,000 target thanks to numerous donations and pledges.

And on July 29, the keys were handed over by previous owner Paul O’Keefe to committee chairman Keith Giddens.

However, more funds need to be raised to carry out repairs and refurbishments.

To potentially help with this, the campaign has been included in the grant funding vote system at the Tesco store in Berwick next month.

As for the awareness-raising by artist William Hamilton, his fish creation is called ‘Fishers Totaliser’.

It is filled in until £220,000, which is the amount that has been raised so far, and ends at £350,000, which is what the committee has worked out to be the maximum they need for repairs and refurbishments (i.e. an extra £150,000 after the £200,000 used to buy the pub).

A spokeswoman for the committee said: “We are now applying for as many grants as we can and the volunteers have begun doing as much as work as possible without incurring any expense at the moment.

“A big thank-you to Tesco, which has included us in its grant funding scheme. Supporters of The Fishers will be able to vote in the Berwick store using the token system when making a purchase.

“If we come first, the money has been allocated for a wood burning stove for the pub. A safe warm hub is extremely valuable for the community in times of extreme weather conditions and power cuts.

“As well as becoming as energy efficient and eco-friendly as possible, there are some really exciting design ideas for the building.

“There are £500 shares in the pub available until October 31, or donations are most welcome. For more information, go to www.fishersarmshorncliffe.org”

Robson Green, Hairy Biker Si King, Kevin Whately and members of the band Lindisfarne all recorded video messages in support of the campaign.