Pub-goer builds his own back-garden boozer after finding local wasn't always open
A man from Bridgnorth has set up his own pub in his back garden and now thinks of the pub as "his baby".
Phil Edwards from Knowle Sands wanted a place to drink with his friends, but found his local wasn't always open.
With a history in the building trade and in property, he set to work and created his pub, Florida Phil's.
The pub is not open to the public, and is instead a place for Phil and his friends to relax and watch the football.
The 59-year-old, who lives with his partner Bev, said: "We originally came to this property to do it up and sell it on, but we fell in love with it.
"It was a dilapidated old cottage years ago, but the land came up for sale, so we knocked the cottage down and built a house."
Phil began the work on his back-garden pub last year, and although work was slowed down by the pandemic, Florida Phil's was completed in three months.
The pub takes its name from Phil's love of the American state, which he has visited many times over the years.
And now, between 30 and 40 of Phil's friends visit Florida Phil's for a drink and to watch football on the TV.
At the moment, they're making the most of the opportunity and gathering for screenings of the World Cup.
"There's a six foot TV," Phil said, "it's fully insulated, with a full bar, spotlights, two bifold doors and disco lights. I've even installed a log fire.
"I have no experience whatsoever in pubs. This is my own sort of project. It's my baby."
The pub is now getting into the festive spirit, and is decked out with Christmas lights and a tree. And as the cost of living bites, Phil is using the pub more than ever.
"With fuel as dear as it is, it's cheaper to sit in there to watch the TV then be in the house, with the central heating on for six rooms," he added.
Phil and his partner, Bev Stradins, have lived in their Bridgnorth home for two and a half years, and they harbour a special love for the Shropshire town.
"I used to come to Bridgnorth for a day out," Phil said, "I was from Wolverhampton, but I always had ambitions to live in Bridgnorth.
"When I brought Bev here for the first time, she thought it was like Cornwall - with the river and all the ice cream shops."
