When June Notman took a job as a receptionist at Calne’s only hotel in 2003, she never dreamed she would be running the place nine years later.

But that is exactly what has happened to the 49-year-old, who became manager of the Lansdowne Strand at the end of last month.

She has taken over from Jack Clarke, who ran the hotel for the past 18 months.

Mrs Notman said: “I was a receptionist for nearly 10 years and now I have taken over from Jack.

“I did a lot of the work for him anyway and it is just the case that sometimes you have to go for it.

“When I heard Jack was leaving and he asked if I would like to have my name put forward I had to say yes. It was time for me to make the move up and have a go at it.”

Mrs Notman, who has lived in Calne since 1974, will not be alone in running the pub and its 24-room hotel. She will be joined by husband Keith and daughter Rebecca, 25.

She said: “It will be nice having Keith and Rebecca helping me. Rebecca will run the reception, which she used to help out with if I was away or on holiday before.”

The Lansdowne Strand, which is Grade II listed and is one of the most prominent buildings in the town centre, was bought by Wiltshire brewery Arkell’s five years ago.

The company has taken its time to move forward with planned refurbishments but said it will now be implementing them and Mrs Notman has plenty of other changes in store.

She said: “We have already had two of the bedrooms refurbished and there are more planned.

“We also want to make more of the food side of things and turn the restaurant back into a proper restaurant again, with things like a new menu and putting tablecloths back on the tables.

“And we have started doing tea and cake deals in the day, which are already proving quite successful.

“It is really exciting and I am looking forward to the future.”

Arkell’s director George Arkell said: “The previous owners of the hotel ran it as a destination hotel, and didn’t make a big effort to attract the local community.

“Since we took over, we’ve aimed at attracting back locals alongside visitors from further afield – after all, the Lansdowne Strand Hotel is the most imposing building in the town and should be at its very centre.”