Residents are eager to keep a Letchmore Heath pub part of the local community, after a "lively and interesting" meeting on Wednesday night.

The Three Horseshoes, in The Green, was listed as an asset of the community value earlier this year after Aldenham Parish Council submitted a request to Hertsmere Borough Council stating it would like to be considered as a potential bidder for the pub, which the owners are intending to sell.

Since being listed, the 400-year-old building cannot be sold to anyone other than a community interest group before December 10.

Until that date, a group has time to put a bid together. After that time, the owners can sell the pub to whomever they want, meaning they are not obligated to accept the community group’s bid.

Wednesday’s public meeting, which was attended by about 100 people in Aldenham War Memorial Hall, in Grange Lane, was organised in order to gage the strength of feeling within the local area behind the bid.

Mark Lemon, one of those chairing the meeting, said: "We wanted to hold it to find out what people are thinking and we really just wanted to open up the forum to the general community to see how the land lies.

"We’re eager to see how willing people are to get involved and at what sort of level. It was a lively and interesting meeting and, although quite well represented from both sides, I would say that the majority are up for keeping the pub as a community asset."

Mr Lemon said the residents are planning to reconvene in a couple of weeks, by which time they shall have a much better idea of where they stand.

He added: "I think everybody in the village cares about the pub, and when we heard rumours it was going to go, we just thought, ‘no, this is wrong’."

He said: "The community asset side of it is really to ensure that we don’t come across this situation in years to come."

The Three Horseshoes is the only community facility in the village, and Mr Lemon said that, if the residents are successful with their bid, they intend to keep it as a pub.