A PUB owner says changing the name of his historic watering hole in Burnley could cause 'uproar'.

The Wellington Hotel, Todmorden Road, which was built back in 1861, is currently undergoing a £250,000 revamp to transform it into a state-of-the-art live entertainment venue.

Now, in a bid to accommodate the new surroundings, the 19th century pub's owner Stephen Pilling has created a controversial new name.

And a competition has been launched for people to guess the name and while Stephen is keeping tight-lipped, he gave a small clue revealing it has a water theme.

But according to Stephen, 43, who owns North Lancashire Inns, alongside his business partner Andrea Buchanan, the move has caused outcry among their punters.

The pub was named after the Duke of Wellington in 1851, hero of the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

It was rebuilt on its current site in 1926 to accommodate the re-widening of the road.

Mr Pilling said: "It's going to cause uproar.

"The locals are already saying it will never work and it will always be the Welly to them.

"We are changing history which people have been used to for the past 140 years.

"Other places have tried it and it hasn't worked, but we have already invested £6,500 in new signage so we're going to give it a go.

"If public opinion says that we're wrong then we'll hold our hands up, but we'll never know unless we try.

"The idea is to create interest and to get people talking about it."

People entering the competition will be in with a chance to win prizes including TVs and DVDs. He added: "It's going to be a completely new concept with a state-of-the-art audio and visual plasma screen for sports coverage and live entertainment with many groups lined up to appear here.

"It's a new era for the Wellington that will keep a traditional theme backed-up with a lot of technology."

The revamp will be completed early next month, with a VIP launch night being held on December 16, where the mystery name will be unveiled with a fireworks party.

Anybody wanting to guess the name should put their answer in writing to the Lancashire Evening Telegraph/Citizen, 20 Keirby Walk, Burnley, BB11 2DE.