Meet the couple who've been running Yorkshire pub for 44 years who have raised huge sums for charity

For the past 44 years they've been in charge of the Nag's Head in the East Yorkshire village of Preston and in that time they've raised £400,000 for charity and been invited to Buckingham Palace for their efforts.

Great niece Jessica Hoe and her husband Rob are in line to eventually take over. Jessica has been learning the ropes since she was a toddler when Mike stood her on a crate to help wash the pots.

Mike, 78, said: "She's been my shadow all that time onwards.

"We're still around every day - we are always poking our noses into what's happening. If they're not doing it right, we tell them off - we're still hands on."

By now they must be among the longest serving licensees at a single pub in Yorkshire.

Marian, 75, was just 23 when they started at The Brunswick in Hull. They were at The Push in Beverley for five years before heading east to the Nag's Head, which is thought to have been one of the original gatehouses for Burton Constable Hall, home to the Constable family for over 700 years.

She says it can be tough when she has her own problems or illnesses to deal with. "You can't take it out on customers. You have to be nice whatever is going on in your head or whatever problems you've got.

"I go up and kick the cupboard door. Everybody says: 'Don't go, I've got my 50th next year, my wedding'. They all keep blackmailing me."

They no longer have the pair of nanny goats which gave them the nickname "Goat pub" when they first opened. And there have been seismic changes, from the drink-drive ban, through the crackdown on smoking to the pandemic and now soaring energy costs.

Of the latter Marian says: "I think everybody is hoping some miracle will happen".

The Nag's Head is still a traditional pub, with an accent on food, with the monthly quiz night in aid of charity, karaoke – both Mike and Jessica sing - birthday parties, weddings and Christenings.

There's a 90-year-old domino player and four dart teams. A new crematorium half a mile away is already bringing in bookings for wakes and houses being built across the road means they will be less out on a limb.

Mike says the pub is more family-orientated these days: "You have to keep the kids happy and the parents happy. Everybody keeps saying when are you going to retire? But I've been doing it this long - what would I do if I retire?

"I'd have to find a job three or four days a week, not for the income but to keep me occupied.

"The reward is there at the end of the day, there is a lot of job satisfaction - people thank you and shake your hand. When people tell me they've had such a good time, it's been brilliant, that's the icing on the cake."