Campaigners are raising a toast to the members of the public who raised a "staggering" £440k to buy the Ickleton Lion pub.

The 300-year-old Ickleton Lion - the last remaining pub in Ickleton - closed its doors last year and is being sold by Greene King.

A community benefit society - Ickleton Community Pub Ltd - which was set up to raise funds to buy the pub has welcomed 420 shareholders over the past 10 weeks.

The society has also held a series of successful fundraising events, including an afternoon tea attended by South Cambridgeshire MP Pippa Heylings and a curry night.

The 'Ickleton Lionhearted' fundraising campaign was extended for two weeks due to a surge of last-minute support, and the share offer has now closed just shy of its original £450k target.

In addition, the Ickleton Lionhearted group has secured a £45k grant from the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority in partnership with Plunkett UK  - which will help support the purchase and potential future refurbishment if the bid is successful.

Thanks to the community effort, the group is now in a strong position to make a competitive offer to Greene King for the purchase of the Lion.

They hope to reopen the Lion as a welcoming community pub serving affordable food and drinks for Ickleton and surrounding villages.

As well as current and former residents of Ickleton, there were also shareholders from further afield who were inspired by coverage of the campaign across regional and national media.

Support has come from as far away as Wisconsin and Toronto, as well as from groups such as Ickleton Cricket Club - who describe the Lion as their 'pavilion' but have had to celebrate their wins outside of the village for the last two seasons.

Ickleton resident Rachel Radford, chair of Ickleton Community Pub Ltd, said: "We’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who heard our rallying cry to save the Ickleton Lion and supported our campaign – whether through buying shares, attending and helping with events, donating and delivering flyers.

"We’d also like to thank our local newspapers, radio stations, regional and national TV for spreading the word about our campaign.  

"The response has been incredible and shows the true power of community spirit.

"Thanks to this wonderful outpouring of support, we are in a good position to put an offer to Greene King to buy the pub and hopefully save it from potential future redevelopment. 

"We hope it’s enough to secure the future of the pub and let the Lion roar again!"

MP Pippa Heylings previously praised the "community spirit" of campaigners at the fundraising afternoon tea. 

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She said: "It's wonderful to see such community spirit in Ickleton and the generosity of those who have already become shareholders to save this treasured pub.

"In rural villages like Ickleton, the pub can really be the heart of the village and connect the community.

"I can see just how professional, committed and with what passion the village is fighting for this."