The reputed drinking hole of Dick Turpin is getting a bit of a facelift

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Plans have gone in to repair a much-loved historic village pub that has been closed for more than two years.

Former regulars at The Cock Inn, in Sibson, raised concerns in November last year that the disused venue was showing serious signs of damage to the exterior.

However, workers were seen shortly after entering the rustic watering hole, raising hopes that previously scrapped plans to renovate and relaunch the pub were making progress.

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Now, an application has been filed with Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council, for repair works to the windows, roof and other areas, to “stablise the building”.

Cracked bricks are to be replaced, the walls cleaned, and some of the windows upgraded and furnished with new oak frames.

A broken purlin along the roof structure is also to be replaced, with all new framing joints to be “traditional carpentry joints”, in keeping with the pub’s historical look.

The owner of the pub, Star Pubs and Bars, has lodged the plans for the project.

Last year, the group revealed plans to restore the Grade-II listed pub and update it with modern furniture, in hopes to find a new operator.

Marie Ainsworth, who was raised in the village, said: “My dad has lived here for over 70 years.

“He’s been using the pub since he was a young man. There’s so many stories from the pub. He’d go down, meet all his friends for a pint.

“I spent many of my formative years in there playing billiards and meeting people.

“I know pubs are closing all over the place, but this one is too historically important for them to let it get into such a poor state.”

The Cock Inn dates back more than 750 years and is famed as one of the reputed drinking holes where Dick Turpin may have hidden from the authorities.

A heritage statement filed with the application included several newspaper clippings to illustrate the pub’s history.

The document includes a curious story from 1844, in the Coventry Standard, about three suspected burglars awaiting trial after allegedly targeting the pub in June that year.

The “notorious characters” had gone upstairs into the home of Mr Upton, who then lived at the pub, and stole some money, along with rum, gin and brandy.

Fortunately, Mr Upton saw one of the miscreants as they left, who was wearing a distinctive “velveteen jacket”, and a policeman identified the three suspicious men later.

The trio were previously involved in burglaries at a home in Attleborough and at two shops in Hartshill, just weeks earlier.

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