The community bid to buy a village pub has been extended because the level of support is already clear.

Although pledges of more than £80,000 have been made towards buying and reopening the Salutation Inn at Irthington – with £11,500 worth of shares bought in just three days last week – it was not enough.

However, Irthington Parish Community Pubs Ltd decided to extend its share deadline, giving people two more weeks to get behind the initiative.

Fiona James, who is on the steering committee, said: “The momentum has really increased. We had £11,500 come in in three days which was an absolutely fantastic response.

“The steering committee decided to extend the share offer to build on that momentum because we feel it has really picked up now.”

The support they’ve seen in the past week has made the steering committee more optimistic than ever.

The group wants to increase the share investment to ensure they have enough money to buy the pub and refurbish it immediately.

Shares, which cost £50 each, can now be bought until Sunday, August 14.

Additional emergency funding has been secured through the Plunkett Foundation and external grant sources, but it is hoped most of the £100,000 minimum can be still be raised in shares.

The committee thinks the timing of their share offer launch – which coincided with the EU referendum – meant people had other things on their mind.

Members had already decided that if they hadn’t quite raised enough, but it was obvious the support was there, then they would allow for an extension.

Fiona said: “Now people are very much coming back and looking at the community.

“There’s a real sense of wanting to get back to their roots and to think about our community. We feel that by extending the deadline there’s that opportunity for people.” “We’re aware of the fact the people have been away and making plans for holidays.”

Shareholder Debbie Edwards, a member of the book club which would meet once a month in the pub, was keen to invest. “Villages have so little by way of community facilities compared to cities and things like pubs are really important to keep a focal hub for people meeting,” she said.

“It seemed like a really sensible idea to put a bit of cash towards it and hopefully secure it for future years. It would be a real shame if it dropped out of usage completely or opened in anyway other than a general pub.

“Irthington is one of the nicest villages I’ve ever had the pleasure to be in and it does so much stuff as a community as a whole. It would be a shame for there to be a gap in the middle of the village.”

The share offer is open to everyone, not just those in the Irthington parish, and donations have already come from as far as Australia.

Fiona thinks it’s important to invest in the community and that people have a chance to reopen a pub which they can design to meet their needs.

In a final push she added: “Don’t miss the chance to take advantage of the extended share offer deadline which offers you a fantastic opportunity to invest in what we hope will be England’s next community pub.

“You can help to shape the future of this great community asset.”

Shares can be bought by anyone over 16, businesses and organisations. There is a minimum share investment of £250 and the maximum is £25,000. People can also club their shares together.

To buy shares or to view the business plan and share offer visit irthingtonparishcommunitypubs.co.uk, email salutationinncomm unitypub@gmail.com or write to Irthington Parish Community Pubs Ltd, c/o Warwick Mill Business Centre, Warwick Mill Carlisle, CA6 4NN for more.