A PUB manager who is passionately revitalising his village boozer has pleaded with punters to quit complaining about the on-site car wash.

Joshua Carney says he cannot afford to run the Catherine Wheel pub in Sandford on Thames without renting out part of the car park for the car wash, but residents call it an "eyesore".

The 24-year-old, who grew up in the village, said: "This was my local and it was going to shut down, which I didn't want to see.

"I moved in and the car wash moved into the car park, but a lot of people in the village complained about it.

"It's completely harmless, they are just trying to get by and do business. They are nice people."

Mr Carney took over the lease on the Henley Road pub two years ago, leaving behind the bustle of Cowley Road in Oxford where he managed a cocktail bar.

The car wash owners pay for rent on their corner of the plot, which would otherwise fall to Mr Carney to dish out for.

He said: "I am having to do things all the time to keep people coming in, like doing up the garden with new football goals for the kids and getting locals in with live music and a cocktail menu.

"It's different to Cowley Road which is full of students: people in Sandford often move out when they grow up because they can't afford the rents, so we miss a generation.

"It is slowly getting busier. I'm starting to see the work pay off – I'm pushing myself quite far. We have got a free pool table and people are starting to realise that.

"There's not really a lot going on in the village but I do love it here, it's quality. It's such a family atmosphere, I don't think a single punch has been thrown. It's nice and peaceful."

Landlord Barry King applied to South Oxfordshire District Council last month to get retrospective permission for the car wash, and the council could still refuse permission.

Certainly, residents slated the change-of-use during consultation.

Clare Oxenbury-Palmer, commented on the planning application to the council: "We are concerned firstly about the amount of extra traffic and congestion this has generated and the danger this poses.

"The car wash has generated disturbance, in terms of extra cars, people and the noise of the vacuums and pressure washers, which are especially annoying at weekends.

"The development and its signs are unsightly and out of character with the village."

Her neighbour David Simmonds wrote that the car wash signs were an "eyesore" and was concerned about chemical-filled water going through the drains.

The district council hoped to decide on the application by June 14.