IT'S a depressing sight watching the rising tide of pubs closing as the credit crunch bites.

This is while an unsympathetic government combats the so-called problem of binge drinking by chucking another four pence on the price of a pint. Which is about as constructive to ensuring the survival of our locals as nominating a one-legged man for a bum kicking contest.

Last year, 1,409 alehouses closed in this country compared with 216 in 2006 so you don't have to be Nostradamus to see the trends here.

So when one rises Lazerus-like to reopen its doors it's cause for celebration.

The pub is the Saracen's Head in Halsall. This ancient village which stands on the A5147 curling out of the Maghull/Lydiate borders has already lost one of its alehouses - the Halsall Arms which stood on the junction facing the 13th century church of St Cuthbert's and the war memorial.

The Pub Column had heard about the Saracen's revival from The Southport Drinker website, a cyberworld version of the village pump, where gossip is exchanged by the regular correspondents. The lively debate about the Saracen's seemed to be split between those happy to see the pub reopening, those unhappy about the manner of its revamp and choice of beer, plus one poor soul protesting his innocence after allegedly pulling the speakers off the pub wall because they wouldn't play Lay Lady Lay by Bob Dylan (nurse, the screens please).

We thought we'd make our own minds up. So the Old Man was duly bundled into the Chapmobile and off we sped. If you're travelling from the 'Pool don't make the mistake we did of trying to find it by following the long and winding roads off the A59 and getting completely befuddled. Keep it simple and take the aforementioned A5417 through the land of the Maghullyback and, on reaching St Cuthbert's, turn right into the charmingly named Summerwood Lane. Half a mile and a narrow hump-backed bridge later and there he is, the Saracen and his turbaned head lounging by the Leeds Liverpool Canal.

It's not only the ideal location for bargees to park up and slake their thirst but the perfect destination for a summer's trip out in the jalopy especially since it has its own spruced up play area and enlarged car park.

The new owners, Dominic Dunning and business partner Steve Winstanley, opened in March after spending £350,000-plus on a major overhaul that included a complete refit in Malaysian hardwood - and not some cheap and nasty laminate as Dominic is keen to point out.

"When we first took over after it closed it was fit to be condemned with mushrooms on the carpets and mould on the ceilings - we had to strip the walls down to the bare brick," said Dominic, originally from West Kirby, whose last pub was the legendary Llandoger Trow in Bristol, Robert Louis Stevenson's inspiration for the Admiral Benbow in Treasure Island.

Now this other historic alehouse, which was here before the 18th century arrival of the canal and whose visiting suppers have included luvvie legends Noel Coward and Errol Flynn, has real ale (Deuchers and Speckled Hen) and top quality cuisine.

Plus a bench to park your bum and watch the ducks and the narrowboats go by. What more could you ask for?

So I've done the difficult part by finding where it is - now you go, do your duty and help to keep it open.

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