A Chester pub is to close its doors for the final time this month.

The Spital Vaults in Spital Walk, Boughton, will be closing on August 21 as the company behind it, Marston's, is selling the building.

The sale of the building has resulted in pub leaseholder Chris Potts setting up a fundraising page to prevent three people residing at the property from becoming homeless from August 23.

Writing on a GoFundMe page, Chris explained he had taken on the lease at The Spital Vaults in December 2023, with the original intention to create jobs and house military veterans who had fallen on hard times. It later became a place to offer local people job opportunities, with three occupants who have since gained pub management skills and experience.

Chris added all three people had given up their previous accommodation to take residence in the pub, which became their home.

However, a few days ago, Chris was informed the pub has now been sold to a property investor.

The fundraiser has been set up as Chris is now looking to secure a new pub tenancy in the city, which would keep his friends in work and have a roof over their heads.

The link to the fundraiser is at https://www.gofundme.com/f/pub-sold-by-brewery-making-occupants-homeless

Writing on social media, a statement from The Spital Vaults says: "As most of the regulars know it’s now time to tell everybody else.

"The Spital Vaults will close its doors for the final time on the 21st of August as the brewery have decided to sell the building.

"We thank you all for your continued support over the last eight months and we hope to see you in our new ventures in the future."

Over the past year, Marston's has sought to raise about £50 million by selling off pubs around the UK, as part of a debt reduction plan.

Most recently, the firm agreed to the sale of its 40 per cent interest in Carlsberg Marston's Limited to a subsidiary of Carlsberg for £206 million in cash, a move which supported a significant reduction in the group's net debt to less than £1 billion.