'TUPPENCE per person per trip', a much-loved local legend, will be celebrated inside a new £1.3m Runcorn pub, creating 40 jobs.

The Ferryboat is the name of the new J D Wetherspoon pub, replacing the former Kwiksave supermarket in Church Street, the World can exclusively reveal.

"We wanted to capture the history of the area," said architect Patrick O'Donnell, of Lawrence, Beckingham Field.

"We have people who do research and we discovered that the ferryboat was quite famous.

"We will put pictures up and do something to reflect the name."

Liz Howard, author and owner of The Curiosity bookshop, in High Street, welcomed the name.

She said: "Choosing something local and traditional shows they care about the town.

"The Ferryboat goes back to the ancient days in Runcorn when Lord Cholmondely had ferry rights.

"You had to pay him to row over.

"If you had pigs to take to market, it was the only way to get across.

"When I was little, I used to take my jam butty and water down to ferry hut.

"It was our seaside, where the ferryman used to sit and wait in the rain."

Dating back to the 1100s, the ferryboat was the only way to cross the Mersey until the Manchester Ship Canal was built in the early 1900s.

The gantry wall meant it could no longer operate and the Old Transporter Bridge was constructed.

The Ferryboat will trade as a Lloyds No 1 bar, playing music throughout the day. It is due to open mid November.