A SOUTHAMPTON pub has reopened – just days after it closed down.

Delighted punters are back at The Royal Oak in Houndwell Place.

It comes after regular drinkers were left dismayed when it shut its doors on Saturday.

Now it has reopened and is welcoming customers in again with fresh hope that it is back in business.

A new acting caretaker told the Echo he is running the pub until the end of next month when a decision of its long term future is likely to be made.

He said: “The pub is open for the moment and I’m looking after the pub until its future has been resolved.”

“I will try to keep it running as long as possible as I love this pub.”

As previously reported a sign pinned up on the venue’s door had informed punters that it had closed, stating: “It is with regret that the Royal Oak will be closed for the foreseeable future. Regards.”

The establishment had been open just a few weeks previously, advertising events at the pub in December on their Facebook page, including the screening of Leicester vs Chelsea in December.

Billing itself as the “ultimate student local” on Facebook and the “number one student pub”, the Royal Oak often pulled in crowds to watch football matches as well as having a weekly quiz night.

In 2007, the pub was at the centre of a bizarre theft after someone stole one of their urinals from the bathroom.

A man was seen on CCTV entering the men’s toilets and leaving with a bulging backpack.

He handed himself into the police less than a week later and was cautioned for the un-loo-usual theft.