EXACTLY two years after a popular Royal Wootton Bassett pub was engulfed in flames a fully restored Cross Keys has reopened.

Last Friday, the High Street pub welcomed back its first punters with plans to officially open the watering house on Friday, July 31.

While Enterprise Inns, which owns the popular haunt, could not confirm who the new tenant landlords were, signs hanging outside the pub and posters on its front door announced the soft opening ahead of the official event.

The pub has also been recruiting for new staff in recent weeks, including a new chef.

Hazel Newson, chairman of the Royal Wootton Bassett Business Association, was among the residents welcoming the news the pub was back online.

"It's wonderful to see The Cross Keys back to life again," she said.

"There's been a huge amount of interest in watching the restoration work progress and seeing it re-open. A much loved feature of our High Street for so many years, it's like welcoming back an old friend."

The town's oldest pub, which dates back to 1742 and home from home for the bereaved families of those who died in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and whose bodies were repatriated through the town until September 2011, was gutted by fire on July 22, 2013 after a blaze started in the roof.

After an inspection of the building, Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service ruled out any criminal activity, and further investigations have suggested that it was started accidentally by an electrical appliance in the top floor of the building.

In March last year an application to restore the building was submitted to Wiltshire Council following a careful consultation with English Heritage and a senior conservation officer in order to ensure Enterprise's makeover plans for the Grade II listed building met relevant guidelines.

Work, which began last autumn, was slow, with Enterprise first forecasting the completion in February.

Its reopening has been welcomed by many of the town’s residents, including town councillor Chris Wannell, who said earlier this year:“It’s been an eyesore on our High Street for far too long but it’s good news that it will be open again soon and that it will still be a pub.

“It has great importance to our town.

"It’s one of the oldest coaching inns in the town and where a lot of the families of the fallen soldiers used to go, and I think given the opportunity they might still go just to sit and reflect.

“It’s an iconic pub and an important part of the High Street and it must not be left to fall into disrepair.”