Just two weeks after it reopened, the Suffolk Punch pub on Norwich Road has closed its doors after a dispute between the licensee and his manager.

Leaseholder Ryan O'Shea said he hopes to have a new manager in place to reopen the doors next week but was unable to say any more because the police were involved.

The pub had closed in the middle of May - but by the beginning of June there were signs on the door saying it was about to reopen.

On July 1 manager Graham Eaveson reopened it to customers, promising to turn it into a true community pub.

Ipswich Star: Graham Eaveson at the Suffolk PunchGraham Eaveson at the Suffolk Punch (Image: Paul Geater)

However it has now shut again and Mr Eaveson and his family are preparing to leave the building.

A notice on the Suffolk Punch Ipswich Facebook page confirms that it is intended to get it open again next week.

Suffolk police confirmed they had been contacted during the dispute.

A spokesperson for Ipswich Borough Council said: “The Suffolk Punch has been a licenced premises for a long time, pre the licensing Act 2003."

Mr O'Shea had been the Designated Premises Supervisor until Tuesday - but the council was now awaiting a new appointment after he stepped back from that role.

The building is owned by pub giant Stonegate but is leased under a deal that puts its management in the hands of its tenant.

The pub was one of a number across the town that were built by the Tollemache brewery in the 1930s and became known as "Tolly Follies."

And as one of the last pubs standing in the north west of Ipswich it remalns a familiar landmark beside the Norwich Road railway bridge.