A historic Dereham hotel will be back in business next week after closing its doors on New Year's Day.

The George Hotel in Swaffham Hill shut after the previous owners went bankrupt, according to Jean Barker, co-owner of the business.

Mrs Barker, 56, and her husband Tony, 59, from Longham, who runs Barconn Leisure in Dereham, bought the George Hotel in 2004 before selling the lease to Allyson and Steve Marlow in April 2010.

The couple bought back the lease from Mr and Mrs Marlow and started a major refurbishment of the hotel in April.

'We are pleased to be back. We hope to keep it one of Dereham's oldest establishments and hope to greet customers old and new,' Mrs Barker said.

The George Hotel will re-open on Tuesday and will only operate as a restaurant and bar, but Mrs Barker said they would like to re-open the 10 double bedrooms in the future.

She added that it was sad to see the business empty, but have had lots of positive feedback about their takeover and refurbishment.

Two of the previous staff have been kept on and an additional 10 full-time and part-time staff, including a manager, head chef and sous chef, have been employed.

Mrs Barker said: 'We hope to bring the best quality food and drink to the town that we can.'

Food served at the hotel will include Sunday roasts, sandwiches and traditional dishes, all made from fresh produce.

The business will be open from 11am to 11pm between Tuesday and Thursday, 11am to midnight on Friday and Saturday, and Sunday lunchtime. It will be closed on Sunday evening and Monday.

To contact the hotel, ring 01362 696801.