A BLAST from Barrow's past is set to make a comeback with the re-opening of a town centre bar.

Stephen Neale has submitted a premises licence application to Barrow Borough Council in a bid to re-open the former Empire venue at the top of Dalton Road.

In his application, Mr Neale states the bar will be called New Empire in a gesture to the pub's past.

Opening hours of the bar, if the licence is granted, would vary between the times of 10am and 3am seven days a week.

The Empire was open during the 1980s and 1990s and was later rebranded as Sophia's.

Run by licence holder Helen Clauson, Sophia's opened in late 2011 but later closed following council-imposed opening hours cuts as a result of anti-social behaviour.