A whisky distillery has opened at a former restaurant and cafe in Ribble Valley after two years of hard work.

Pendle Witch Distillery was given approval by council planners to transform the tea room area at the former cafe-bar The Plate in Waddington two years ago.

The site will now consist of a tasting area, a shop for spirits produced on site, and tours available to the public.

Gary Hexley, stock manager at Pendle Witch Distillery, said: "Every new business needs local support because there's no government help these days since we left the European Union.

"Two years ago we raised the money to buy the kit and to install the case, and it's just got to the point now where we really can make products.

"It's taken two years of hard work to get to this point in time, as whisky doesn’t mature until it is three years and a day old."

Pendle Witch Distillery was created by David Moore, from Clitheroe, who wanted to start his own family business after working for his dad's drainage company.

What inspired David to start a distillery business was a programme from America about the history of moonshine (illegal liquor), and David and his dad were inspired to make whisky themselves.

The Moore family live close to the distillery site and when they saw it was up for sale, decided to buy the land and make the dream come true.

Gary continued: "David and his late father encouraged each other to make their whisky brilliant, and that's what we want to do.

"His father's death made David determined to get the distillery off the ground.

"What you need for this business is an ordinary working class family, so it's a really nice thing that David's sons Robert and Liam are working on this as well."

Younger son Robert is going to be trained as a distiller, whilst David's wife Sharon will also be running the shop on site after leaving her job as a dinner lady.

Gary said: "We are now going to start making casks for sale.

"There's so many people getting involved in whisky at the minute, but because we do do visits as well, when people visit, they can go and see the bonded warehouse.

"People are dead keen on on seeing it and understanding how it works."

The distilley draws its name from the famous Pendle Witch Trials of 1640.

Gary added: "When you look at the whiskey stills, they've got this rim around them, and it just looks like a witch's hat which ties in really nicely."