It's five years ago this week since we reported on the opening of a Leytonstone pub under new ownership.

A popular pub chain is set to open its second branch in Waltham Forest later this week.

Electric Star Pubs, which runs the Leyton Star in Leyton High Road, will launch The Heathcote and Star in Grove Green Road, Leytonstone, on Friday, October 27.

The pub, formally known as the Heathcote Arms, has been closed since last February and had come under threat from development several times in recent years.

It was closed by previous owners Stonegate in 2014 and purchased by Equity Estates, although no planning permission was submitted for change of use.

In 2015, the Heathcote became the first pub in the borough to be handed protected status as an “asset of community value” under a Waltham Forest Council scheme to offer more protection to community boozers.

Rob Star, director of Electric Star Pubs, said: “We are really excited to be opening our second pub in Waltham Forest, it’s an amazing site with loads of history, which was in danger of being lost to redevelopment.

“It will be the biggest site in the group and we are working with Kai design to return it to its former glory and give the residents of Leytonstone a local that they can enjoy for years to come.”