Kerry Wolfe was one of the staff at The Gamekeeper in Woodlands Road, Woodlands, and is now the landlady

Similarities between Cheers and The Gamekeeper may be few and far between but regulars say they have one thing in common - their warm, friendly atmosphere.

Margaret Fahey, who has known the pub for 26 years, says: "It's the pub where everyone knows your name."

The Gamekeeper is run by Kerry Wolfe, who grew up in the area and was one of the employees before she took over as landlady in October last year.

Her tenure got off to a flying start when environmental health inspectors from New Forest District Council paid a routine visit and gave the pub a food hygiene rating of five - the highest possible.

Kerry said: "I have emotional ties to the pub - my grandfather drank here as a young man and I know a lot of the locals.

"When I became the landlady one of my main aims was to make it a friendly pub where even someone on their own could come in and chat to people.

"The Gamekeeper is where the annual Netley Marsh carnival starts. This year we want to enter a float ourselves and make a big deal of it. We're also hoping to do music in the summer.

"Since taking over I've had a lot of support from the locals, which is really nice. We've just had our busiest Sunday for years."

Running a pub is often a family affair and The Gamekeeper is no exception. The chef is Kerry's brother-in-law, Keith Frampton.

"Keith is doing very well with the food side of things - we've had a lot of good comments," she said.

The dog-friendly pub has been a watering hole since 1852.

It used to be called The Royal Oak but 20 years ago was given another name reflecting its New Forest location – The Gamekeeper.

One of the nearby roads is named after Millvina Dean, who was the last remaining survivor of the Titanic disaster in 1912.

Millvina, who lived at Woodlands and used to visit the pub, died aged 97 in 2009 – three years before the centenary of the sinking.