Ideas are being sought to preserve a historic high street pub which has lay vacant for four years.

The group Save the King’s Arms Hotel was set up by concerned Irvine residents last week and is inviting comments and ideas on how the iconic building can best preserved after it called last orders in 2015.

The pub has lay vacant since it was closed by former owners the Scott family in May 2015 with 30 staff members losing their jobs.

The building is currently advertised to let by chartered surveyors and property consultant firm Graham Sibbald, who were unable to respond before the Times went to press.

Irvine community councillors previously raised the alarm on the state of the building, with member Marion Taylor last year questioning if anything could be done with it to compliment the regeneration of the town centre.

Irvine West SNP Councillor Shaun Macaulay said: “If the council owned it it would be a different story but they don’t own it and we don’t have the capital money to buy it.

“We can do up the High Street because we own the High Street. We don’t own the King’s unfortunately.”