"JUST popping down to the allotment" has taken on a whole new meaning with the opening of a pub of that name in St James' Road, Tunbridge Wells.

Renamed by new landlord Keith Walker when he and partner Andrew Sargeant reopened the old Mitre pub eight months ago, The Allotment lives up to its name. There are strawberries growing outside the bedroom windows, runner beans lining the garden and a thriving crop of courgettes and pumpkins crawling across an archway by the back door. And beyond the seating area is a vegetable patch bulging with brussels sprouts and onions, raspberries and beetroots.

"We wanted to serve fresh produce and we have a big corner plot, so it made sense to use it," said Mr Sargeant, 59. "We've had no problem with thieves or vandals, although I do see the odd mother and toddler crunching raw runner beans as they pass by. But they're welcome – we've had such a huge crop this year we've made runner bean chutney."

With the distance from plot to plate cut to just a few metres, Mr Walker, 60, who formerly ran a pub in Horsebridge in Sussex with his partner, serves up weekly Sunday roasts plus a wide range of traditional pub food. And plenty of runner beans.