AN historic Moors pub is set to be demolished and replaced by a cafe and tap room.

The decision to knock down and replace the Saltersgate Inn on the A169 near 'the Hole of Horcum' was taken at a meeting of the North York Moors planning committee today (Thursday).

A spokesperson for the authority's planning department said the decision was unanimous, and that the pub had been a victim of the financial crash in 2008 which halted a planned redevelopment.

The pub was bought at auction in 2016 by local landlords Charles and Toby Wood.

The Saltersgate Inn, which dates back to 1648, closed towards the end of 2007.

The pub was famed as a haunt for smugglers taking salt and rum across the moors from boats which had been lured onto the rocks between Whitby and Scarborough.

A legend had it that the peat fire in the historic pub was never supposed to go out. It was said that an exciseman, who was carrying out an investigation into the smuggling, was killed and buried under the fire.

More details in the Gazette & Herald on Wednesday.