One of the county's smallest pubs has been hailed as a tremendous investment for the local community, as it was officially opened in North Walsham by Mary Seward, the town's Deputy Mayor.

Richard Cornwall and Nigel Davies, with their partners, Sue Squires and Jane Edrupt, finally achieved their long-term ambition after adapting a former taxi base into a micro-pub, now named The Hop-In.

Mr Cornwall, 61, said: 'We are very pleased that finally our dreams have come to reality. We had visited one of the very first 'micro pubs' in Nottingham, three years ago, and we were so impressed and decided that we would open one in our own county of Norfolk.'

They set about looking for suitable premises, in and around Norwich, without success.

They decided to search a few miles further away from the city and spotted a former taxi office available in North Norfolk, and felt it would be ideal for the purpose.

'We were so excited and had a supportive agent who patiently waited to see if we could get a 'change of purpose' on the listed premises through the Local Authority and a licence, of course which all takes time, but we got there in the end,' Mr Cornwall explained.

'There are many rules and regulations to deal with, for example, customers are only allowed to drink alcohol within the premises. We can seat approximately 30 customers but we are only offering snack food.

'However, anyone who collects a take away from local outlets can pop into our Micro Pub for a pint and use our facilities.'

The Hop-In are offering as selection of six real ales from cask and a couple of ciders as well as soft drinks and teas and coffee.

Deputy Mayor, Mary Seward, who attended the opening with her husband, councillor Eric Seward, said: 'As Deputy Mayor of North Walsham Town Council, I was pleased to be at the official opening of the Hop In. I wish it every success.'

She added: 'It is a tremendous investment in our town and the bonus was that for the first time in my life I got to pull a pint!'