A PUB with an appalling recent history has been taken over by a chain with a history of turning around problem boozers.

As News Shopper reported last month, The Copperfield in Catford Bridge has been closed pending a review of its licence by a Lewisham Council committee.

It followed two stabbings and a host of complaints about drugs, public urination, noise and even intoxicated women being driven around outside on the bonnets of cars.

Now Antic Pubs is taking over the lease, renaming it The Catford Bridge Tavern, putting a kitchen in the ground floor and promising to leave the bad old days behind.

Operations director Max Alderman said: “Physcially we won’t do that much because it’s still a very nice pub.

“There’s not a lot to change, frankly, beyond the reputation and some of the clientele.”

The chain already runs a host of popular boozers in the area, many of which once suffered from a bad reputation, including the Ravensbourne Arms in Lewisham, Brockley’s Jam Circus and Deptford’s Royal Albert.

Mr Alderman said: “It’s really about running a good operation and managing it well. Then people will come.”

The pub still needs to clear the hurdle of a licensing committee next week, where serious concerns about problems at the venue will be addressed.

But, if all goes well, Mr Alderman said the new pub should be open within a month.

Another Antic pub, the Sylvan Post in Dartmouth Road, Forest Hill, is set to open in the next few weeks.