A MASSIVE selection of pub furniture and fittings will come under the hammer at a special sale in Nelson.

Honeycombe Leisure, which bought out the Devonshire Pub Company in a £32million deal in March, has ordered an auction of surplus goods at the company stores behind Devonshire's flagship pub, the Thatch and Thistle at Reedyford.

Pictures, light fittings, TVs, bottle chillers, garden benches, amplifiers, speakers, office and pub chairs will all come under the hammer on Thursday August 23.

Last month Preston-based Honeycombe, announced an operating profit of £3.3million, with turnover up 50 per cent.

However, Finance Director Michael Norris confirmed the Devonshire head office building behind the Thatch and Thistle was being sold with the loss of 30 jobs, mostly through voluntary redundancy.

The building, which has planning permission for a travel lodge hotel development, is on the market. Mr Norris said negotiations for its disposal had begun.

Honeycombe Leisure is now the North West's largest independent managed pub group, with 85 outlets including the Burnley's BB11, the Simonstone Hotel and the Bee's Knees in Accrington.