REGULARS at a Stroud pub have ensured a long-serving customer can carry on enjoying their company by raising £1,000 to buy him an electric scooter.

Kind-hearted punters at the King's Head in Kingscourt raised the cash for former journalist Robin Haine, who suffers from crippling neurological disorder multiple sclerosis.

This week Mr Haine, who has been drinking in the pub for the last 40 years, told the SNJ: "It's the next best thing to having a new pair of legs.

"I was totally overwhelmed, I couldn't believe it when they told me what they were doing.

"It really is a tremendous piece of kit and it has made such a difference."

The cost was met with an eight-month fundraising campaign that included a sponsored walk, karaoke, a darts tournament and a donation from Woodchester Football Club.

King's Head landlord John Nicholl said: "He has been coming to the pub for so long but now finds walking increasingly difficult - so we decided to make life a bit easier for him."

A shed to house the scooter, complete with power supply and security alarms, was paid for with a grant from the Multiple Sclerosis Society.