CAMPAIGNERS fighting to save a Broom's Green pub have joined forces with another group also battling to save their local.

The Horseshoe Inn Companions (HIC) met up with the Cradley Crown Crusaders on Saturday (February 1) to compare notes over a few drinks at Broom's Green Memorial Hall, which was transformed into a pub for the night.

HIC has been fighting for the re-instatement of the village pub, the Horseshoe Inn, since it closed in May 2001.

Since then, the nearest watering hole for Broom's Green residents has been the Beauchamp Arms in Dymock.

An application by the present owners Jackie and Chris Tweedale to turn the pub into a bed and breakfast was turned down by Forest of Dean District Council planners in May last year. The pub, however, remains closed.

The Cradley Crown Crusaders presented a 750-name petition to Herefordshire councillors last month as part of a campaign to prevent their village pub, the Crown, being turned into houses.

HIC chairman Penny Ely said Saturday's meeting had gone very well.

"It's our way of keeping the community together and showing we are still there," she said.

Mark Haslam, Herefordshire representative of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), said he fully supported the two groups, and thought their joining forces a good idea.

"We're trying to get more of these groups together," he said, adding that they can swap tips on how to campaign effectively.

HIC has also set up a website, www.hicc.info, giving details of its campaign, outlining planning law and putting the case for the pub to be retained.