Landlady of popular Halesowen pub speaks of stress caused following 'new owner' hoax

The landlady of a popular Halesowen pub has thanked the community for their support following a bizarre incident where a man claimed to have become the new owner of the pub, but it was later revealed to be a hoax.

Josie Garfield said she had been working on Saturday night behind the bar of the Vine Inn when she was approached by a man who subsequently said he had bought the pub from the Stonegate Group.

This appearance had led to what Ms Garfield described as uproar across the community, with a petition being started on change.org by a regular, while Ms Garfield and her partner Gerry Quaid had been in contact with Stonegate to find out what was going on.

After three days of uncertainty, Ms Garfield said it was confirmed by Stonegate Group that the pub had not been sold and said that the news had been a relief after three days of stress and shock, but she was still going through the emotions.

She also said that she had found out that it wasn't just her pub where this had happened.

She told the Express & Star: "I've been in horrendous shock for three days thinking that my pub's gone and now I'm in shock thinking why someone would do this.

"He just showed up on Saturday night at 10pm and showed us an email on his phone which told us that he had bought the pub, which was something we knew nothing about.

"From there, there was a huge uproar from the community and all the stress for us, but we spoke to Stonegate and had a meeting and they told us that they know nothing about this man and were surprised to learn what he was doing.

"It's just very strange and I'd also got a message from a landlord friend of mine who told me that the same man has been going around to other pubs and telling them that he's bought the pubs."

Ms Garfield said the man had claimed to be in the pub three days before and had been phoning since Saturday to tell her and her partner that he wanted them to work for him running the pub on a number which came up as suspected spam.

A message was posted on the Vine's Facebook page on Tuesday afternoon to let regulars know that the pub was not being sold.

The message read: "After long discussions with Stonegate, we are pleased to confirm that the events of Saturday Night appear to be an elaborate con.

"The Vine Inn is here to stay under the control of Josie & Gerry until further notice.

"We are sorry for any upset caused to our community and Our Vine is here to stay for you the community. 

"Lots of love, Josie & Gerry."

Ms Garfield said that while the incident had been very unsettling and upsetting, she was relieved to find out that it had been a hoax and that she and Gerry were still able to run the pub.

She said: "I don't know what it was and I'm still in shock and can't get my head around it, but the community have been amazing and so supportive, so thank you all so much."

Stonegate has been contacted for a comment.