A COUPLE who moved to the Lake District to pursue their dream of running a village pub are selling up because of a family tragedy.

Emma Jones, 30, is struggling to come to terms with the death of her mother, Susan, who died in January, aged 60, after falling into Force Forge at Satterthwaite.

Exactly two months earlier Emma had moved from Bristol with her partner Simon Cole, 37, to run The Eagle’s Head.

Mrs Jones was out walking with her husband, Malcolm, on January 11 when she slipped and fell into the waterfall near their home.

Mr Jones attempted to rescue his wife but struggled to reach her. A coroner recorded a verdict of accidental death at her inquest held in March.

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“A few weeks ago it hit me that I couldn’t live in the village anymore – there are too many difficult memories and what we moved here for doesn’t exist,” said Miss Jones.

“At the time we were just overcome with grief and just kept going because you don’t know what to do.

“We wanted to keep on going for mum because she believed in the pub and was excited.”

After working together at the BBC in Bristol for the natural history unit on wildlife programmes, the couple decided to make the move to Satterthwaite where Miss Jones’s parents had just bought the vicarage after holidaying there for years.

“We were attracted by the beauty of the area but mainly because Emma’s parents were here so we bought the pub to run it as a family community pub and it felt like the right thing to do at the time,” said Mr Cole.

And despite the heartbreaking circumstances, the duo continued to run the business.

Mr Cole added: “For Emma to put a smile on her face every day was a huge amount of effort.

“But the pub has been a fantastic success – it’s a vibrant and exciting place and since November we’ve doubled the takings.”

Inspired by their achievement, the couple are now looking for a future elsewhere involving food in order to have something to focus on.

“We put everything we had into the pub and Emma’s parents backed us in buying it and were very excited about committing to our future,” continued Mr Cole. “This isn’t what we came for and it’s changed our lives forever.”

Miss Jones added that Bristol was a possible destination for their next step as she misses her friends.

“I think mum would have believed we’re doing the right thing,” she said.

The 17th century pub is on the market for £499,950.

For more information call 01229 860237 or email theeagleshead@gmail.com