A TV producer is having a career change to run a landmark Bingley hotel.

The Five Rise Locks Hotel has been bought by Stuart Doughty and his wife Lin for £625,000.

Mr Doughty, who now works for the BBC, has been a producer on popular TV soaps like Emmerdale, Brookside and Heartbeat.

His wife said they were delighted to take over the well-established business which boasts picturesque views of the Aire Valley.

"We'd been looking for a hotel for a while and you could say that the Five Rise Locks found us," said Mrs Doughty, a former theatre administrator.

"It has all the prerequisites we were looking for, including size, quality and position. And Bingley is ideal as it has a main-line train station."

She said her husband was away working in Scotland and would be joining her in a few months.

"We will be making a few minor changes to give the hotel our personal touches but nothing drastic," said the mother-of-two.

"The staff and customers have been very welcoming and I'm settling in well."

Previous owners William and Pat Oxley ran the hotel in Beck Lane for almost nine years.

Mr Oxley, who is also a member of the Better Bingley Campaign, said he and his wife were taking a break for a few months before looking for a new venture.

"It will be a shock to a lot of people but we just fancied taking some time out," he said.

"The hotel was a labour of love and we do miss the buzz, the daily contact with people and our regulars."

The Five Rise Locks hotel was this year given the Red Diamonds accolade in the AA Red Awards, giving it a sought-after position in the top ten per cent of small UK hotels.

It also has a four-diamond rating from the English Tourism Council, a Sparkling Diamond Award and Dining Award from the RAC.

It was built in the 1770s as Hall Bank and was the home of Bingley mill owner George Aked in 1875.