DARK clouds continue to hang over The Blue Bell in Dockenfield after the ill-fated pub's current owners were taken to court over an alleged £1.8 million benefits fraud.

Barry Brooks, 49, reopened The Blue Bell in November last year with business partners John White, 78, and Derek Arnold, 55, after the pub's previous owners left two months earlier.

But last Friday, the three men appeared at Southwark Crown Court to face charges of conspiracy to defraud after "severely disabled" Brooks was filmed serving food in The Blue Bell, the court heard.

For full story, see this week's Farnham Herald.