A new Italian restaurant in a Lancashire town is preparing to open to excited customers this week.

The owners of Ley Italia in Chorley have been busy preparing the finishing touches to their new Italian restaurant which will open at 5pm on Friday, April 21.

Front of House manager Hollie Jackson and her fiancé and chef Sean Ennis have spent the last six months working on Ley Italia in Back Lane, Clayton-le-Woods in Chorley.

The couple, who have worked in the hospitality industry for a while with Sean having experience as a chef for 23 years, say they are excited to bring a taste of Italy to the village.

Hollie and Sean said: “We’re looking forward to providing people with a good time. We look after families and just customers of all age groups.

“Kids can make their own pizzas so the chef will roll some dough out and put tomato sauce on it and they can tell us what they want and add the toppings there themselves. We want to create a fun experience for everyone.”

Sean says the opening of the restaurant has provided around seven jobs for people in the community.

Speaking on the preparation process, Sean said: “We’ve been really busy the past few weeks especially preparing to open on Friday.

“Hollie’s hand designed the seating and we’ve got a flower wall now. We’ve been using local traders and painters to help up set up because it’s important for us to support local when we can.

“I’ve been a chef for over 20 years and I always try to use local produce and local butchers when I can. I think that’s really important.

“We’ve done a bit of research to help us prepare for this and I’ve done 12 years of Italian cooking so there is a soft spot for Italian cuisine.” The menu includes a variety of different Italian dishes including pasta and risotto meals, classic pizza and calzones and well loved starters like bruschetta and seafood nibbles.

The house specialties include different cuts of beef, chicken and lamb like the ‘Filetto Rossini’ which is fillet steak with chicken liver pate served with garlic and red wine sauce, potatoes and vegetables.

Sean added: “We’ve spoken to a lot of people and a lot of people think it’s great they’re getting an Italian restaurant.

"I think the closest one to us is in Leyland which is about three and a half miles away so it’s good to be able to provide this in the community.”

Ley Italia is open five days and bookings can be made over Facebook.