A SUFFOLK pub has rekindled a stable relationship.

A SUFFOLK pub has rekindled a stable relationship.

The White Horse in Tattingstone welcomed back its beloved horse mascot after gales knocked it from its perch earlier this year.

And there to help guide it back into place was 79-year-old Dennis Bryan, who had been at the top of the ladder when it was last installed 44 years ago.

Mr Bryan was part of the team that renovated the pub in 1964. He was just 35 at the time but remembers it well.

Mr Bryan said: “If I remember correctly there was a bit of a crowd here when I helped put it up.

“We helped renovate the entire pub and put the horse up after we had painted the outside of the building. We had taken it down to be repaired.”

Mr Bryan was working for Collins Builders of Ipswich when the White Horse job came along.

This time the horse was restored by George Monger Conservation & Museum Services, of Onehouse and hoisted back into place by Bonfield Brothers.

Andy Hurley, landlord of the White Horse for the last two years, was glad to see the pub's emblem come home and revealed a little of the horse's remarkable history.

He said: “The horse hasn't been here since March so we've been calling ourselves the 'White Post'.

“As the landlord I get to hear all the stories of where the horse came from. Apparently it started life at the Great White Horse Hotel in Ipswich.

“More room was needed when the tramlines were laid in Ipswich so they decided to get rid of it. They were going to bin it but someone mentioned there was a White Horse in Tattingstone.”

Mr Bryan was glad to fulfil his mane priority of seeing the pub reunited with its old neigh-bour but was happy to be an observer this time.

He said: “I shouldn't fancy going up there now. Looking at the height of the ladder I'm surprised I did back then.”