The Fusilier, in Sydenham Drive, shut last November after the previous owner had a dispute with the brewery.

Following a nine-month closure the venue is now open for business again under the management of Kevin Murphy and his business partner Jim Shurvinton.

Mr Murphy said: "We are relishing the challenge and trying to make The Fusilier a community pub for residents of the Sydenham estate.

"We don't want any youngsters causing trouble so we have made it for over 21s. We want to make a nice atmosphere for residents but if anyone under 21 wants to come in with their parents they will be welcome."

Since closing in 2007 the site, which is owned by Punch Taverns brewery, has been plagued with problems including fly-tipping and vandalism from youths gathering and drinking alcohol in the car park.

Mr Murphy explained the issues, which included people dumping old car tyres behind the building, have now been resolved. He added: "When we opened, the problems stopped straight away as we now have a manager who lives on site and we have CCTV to catch culprits."

The 44-year-old, who also owns Murphy's Bar in Regent Street and The Pig and Fiddle in High Street, has recruited manager Bob Stare to encourage new customers into the premises.

He believes attracting regulars back to the pub after so long could be difficult and added: "It might be hard at first but we have a nice atmosphere and the beer is very reasonably priced.

"We had a very successful opening night and were very busy with people coming for our pig roast and we hope to improve the garden area so we can hold more events such as barbecues and karaoke ."

Karaoke starts at the pub at 7.30pm tonight (Friday). Call the pub on 336048 for more information.