AN INTERNATIONAL yacht-based chef has given up the high seas to open up the Six Bells pub with the love of his life in her native Colerne.

Joe Costa, 43, whose previous clients included Rupert Murdoch, Billy Joel and Michael Douglas, met his fiancée Charlotte Pike, 35, in Antigua and, after a whirlwind romance, decided to come back to Wiltshire to start a family.

Since taking over the pub the couple have been working on updating it and hope to make it the heart of the local community.

Mr Costa said: “I came back with my partner and when I saw north Wiltshire and Colerne I was just mesmerised.

“I come from East London, originally from Bethnal Green, and the difference was pretty stark. To see Bath and the Cotswolds was just an eye opener.

“The pub was run down when we took it on.

“I thought it just needed a little love and attention.

“We are still refurbishing it now but we have been a success with the locals. A lot of people are coming in and saying how great it is to be open again and that they have not been inside for something like 15 years.”

Prior to taking on the Six Bells, Mr Costa ran a ‘hambulance’, a converted ambulance selling burgers made from free-range locally reared beef.

Miss Pike is expecting their first child this year, with the couple’s wedding scheduled to take place at the pub this summer.